Posted by Administrator on August 4th, 2024
Elton John celebrated 34 years of sobriety on July 31 with a post on Instagram. Sir Elton shared a picture of his Alcoholics Anonymous coin that featured the phrase, "To thine own self be true." The words "unity" "service" and "recovery" were embossed along the triangle while inside, the number "34" appeared in roman numerals. He captioned the image "34 years clean and sober. My life has never been better." John, who took a year off from work in 1990 to attend recovery after years of addiction issues, opened up about just how bad his addition was in his 2019 memoir, Me. Elton recalled the time he hijacked a Rolling Stones show while high on cocaine, as well as the moment he mistook Bob Dylan for his gardener while high -- describing him as "scruffy." In 2020, ahead of an online screening of his film biopic Rocketman, John said despite the debauched lifestyle of many musicians in '70s LA who regularly took cocaine to the point that few commented on it, his cocaine use was so extreme by comparison that it was "noticed" by many. John has spoken extensively about his addiction in the past. In 2019, the musician said he feared he wouldn't be able to perform sober after he took a year long break to have treatment for addiction. "After I finally surrendered and decided to seek treatment for my addiction, there came a point when I wondered if I would ever go back to work as Elton John again," he told in a Variety magazine "Recovery" issue. - New Musical Express, 8/2/24...... 
Three months after rescheduling the remaining dates of their "Peace Out" farewell tour, Aerosmith officially announced their retirement from touring with an Aug. 2 Instagram post amid frontman Steven Tyler's ongoing vocal cord injury. "It was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith. Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades. Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock 'n' roll history," the statement began. "It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives." The statement continued that Tyler "has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury," before adding, "We've seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision -- as a band of brothers -- to retire from the touring stage." The band then thanked their crew and team before concluding with a message to their fans. "A final thank you to you -- the best fans on planet Earth. Play our music loud, now and always. Dream On. You've made our dreams come true," they wrote, noting that all tickets purchased will be refunded. Tyler first revealed that he injured his voice in Sept/ 2023. "I'm heartbroken to say I have received strict doctor's orders not to sing for the next thirty days," he explained at the time. "I sustained vocal cord damage during Saturday's show that led to subsequent bleeding. Aerosmith, formed in 1970 by Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. - Billboard, 8/2/24...... A rare collection of Michael Jackson's signed drawings was scheduled to be auctioned off in Los Angeles on Aug. 3. The 78 sketches made using wax pencils and pastels as well as watercolors include images of the singer in a Jedi-style robe, as well as drawings of chairs, Michelangelo's David, a number of U.S. presidents, Peter Pan, pop art icon Andy Warhol, Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe and Queen Elizabeth II. "Get ready to own some of the most coveted pieces of art by one of the biggest music icons in the world," reads a description from auction house Kings Auctions. "These one of a kind pieces of art aren't just an investment, they are your chance to own a piece of music history." "He was influenced by many art genres, from classical and architectural to pop art and even formal portraiture. He also had a great fondness for London and British customs," the auction house added of the sketches, all of which are signed and some of which are double-sided. However, the Jackson estate is challenging the authenticity of the drawings. "The Estate of Michael Jackson does not accept that this artwork was created by Michael Jackson," a rep for the estate told Billboard. "Our representatives examined this artwork several years ago while it was being stored in a hangar at the Santa Monica airport, and the inspection only raised further concerns. We have made this clear to the auction house and others many times since. The Estate asked for evidence that these works were in fact created by Michael, and no sufficient evidence has ever been produced. Caveat emptor." The collection, including images Jackson sketched of shoes, doors, chairs, keys, bi-planes, the gates of his Neverland Ranch and flowers, can be browsed on Instagram. - Billboard, 8/1/24...... 
The never-ending legal feud between Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon has erupted once again, with Cain filing a new lawsuit against Schon over claims that his "exorbitant" spending is threatening to cripple the band's touring operations. In a complaint made public in Delaware court on July 30, Cain claimed that Schon's alleged spending -- including unilaterally chartering private jets and charging personal expenses to their shared American Express card -- has led to a "deadlock" that must be resolved. "The deadlock between the company's directors is now interfering with the company's ability to take even the most basic actions and is causing significant disruptions in the smooth operation of the company," Cain's lawyers write, adding that the problems "pose a severe threat of harm to the company and to Journey's storied history of musical greatness." Legal battles are nothing new for Schon and Cain, the two key remaining members of the iconic rock band that's still a big ticket seller decades after its "Don't Stop Believin'" heyday. In 2022, Schon sued Cain over allegations that his bandmate had unfairly blocked his access to the Amex account, "interfering" with the band's activities and delaying payments to crew members and vendors. A few months later, Cain countersued -- claiming he had placed those restrictions on the Amex to stop Schon from "misusing" the company card, including spending $400,000 in a single month. The new case largely rehashes those same disagreements over spending -- like Cain claiming that Schon has "spent up to $10,000 per night for hotel rooms for him and his wife" during their most recent tour. But in technical terms, the new case focuses narrowly on the governance of Freedom 2020 Inc., a Delaware-based corporate entity they created to operate Journey's touring. Since Cain and Schon each control exactly 50% of the company, the lawsuit says the two have reached an impasse that has spilled into other aspects of the band's operations, like managing their staffers. The lawsuit claims the strife between Cain and Schon has also led to other problems, including disagreements about whether to accept an advance from AEG for their most recent tour, the purchase of cancellation insurance and other problems. - Billboard, 8/2/24...... Ted Nugent has teamed up with his son Rocco Winchester Nugent on a new song about the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The mid-tempo track, "Who Shot Trump," featuring laconic vocals from Rocco -- who usually records under the name "rocco, moon" -- was recently uploaded to YouTube and finds the pair repeating a series of Trumpian talking points while warning "they f---ed up." Rocco goes on to describe watching Fox News that day and seeing Trump turn his head as the assailant's bullet nicked his ear during an outdoor rally in Butler, PA, suggesting that intended target Trump was "clearly touched by the hand of God." The FBI has determined that Trump was struck by a bullet, or a bullet fragment, that grazed his ear in the incident in which attendee Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed and a number of other attendees were wounded; Crooks was shot and killed by snipers shortly after he opened fire from a roof near the rally site. Nugent has long been a full-throated supporter of former one-term President Trump, who is currently in an increasingly tighter race with expected Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. The former Senator and San Francisco prosecutor stepped in two weeks ago when Pres. Joe Biden announced that he was dropping out of the race and endorsing his VP. - Billboard, 8/1/24...... 
A new Fleetwood Mac live album, Mirage Tour '82, will be released on Sept. 20 in 2xCD, 3xLP vinyl and digital formats. The set captures the magic of the band's iconic performances at The Forum in Los Angeles during their 1982 Mirage Tour. Some of the band's greatest hits, such as "Landslide," "Dreams," and "Don't Stop" are among the newly available live tracks. A live version of "Don't Stop" has been released for streaming ahead of the album launch. "In September 1982, Fleetwood Mac embarked on a 31-city U.S. tour in support of Mirage, the band's fourth consecutive multiplatinum album and third No. 1 in America," according to a press release. "Both shows at The Forum were recorded, and Mirage Tour '82 combines songs from both into a single concert experience." Mirage, the band's thirteenth studio album, was issued on June 18, 1982 and produced several hit singles, including "Hold Me," which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart. The release follows last year's Rumours: Live, which debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart dated Sept. 23, 2023. This marked Fleetwood Mac's highest chart debut since their studio album Say You Will opened at No. 2 in May 2003. Rumours: Live featured recordings from the band's Aug. 29, 1977, concert at The Forum during their Rumours Tour. - Billboard, 7/31/24...... A 100th birthday celebration in honor of former Pres. Jimmy Carter will take place on Sept. 17 in Atlanta headlined by an all-star group of musicians and celebrities. "Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song" will come ahead of the ailing former commander-in-chief's centenary on Oct. 1. Among the musical acts booked for the show are: the Allman Brothers Band's Chuck Leavell, D-Nice, Drive-By Truckers, Eric Church, GROUPLOVE, Maren Morris, the War and Treaty and The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus, along with expected appearances from former Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy, rapper Killer Mike and actor Sean Penn. Organizers said other guests will be announced at a later date. The show at Atlanta's historic Fox Theatre will also celebrate Pres. Carter's tireless work advocating for human rights, public health and democracy around the world through the Carter Center. Pres. Carter, the nation's 39th President (1977-1981), has been in his Plains, GA home since Feb. 2023 receiving hospice care and was last seen publicly at his late wife former First Lady Rosalynn Carter's funeral in November. The Associated Press reported that Jason Carter said in a statement that his grandfather remains in good spirits and still enjoys watching his beloved Atlanta Braves on TV and listening to music. "Whether it was on his record players, on the campaign trail, or on the White House lawn, music has been and continues to be a source of joy, comfort and inspiration for my grandfather," Jason Carter said. The Fox Theatre's announcement of the event can be seen on X. - Billboard, 8/2/24...... On July 31 Elvis Presley's actress granddaughter Riley Keough announced a book tour in support of her late mother Lisa Marie Presley's upcoming memoir. The memoir, which was partially written by Presley and later finished by her daughter Keough upon request, is titled From Here to the Great Unknown and is due for release via Random House on Oct. 8. The finished product sees Keough tell her mother's story through Lisa Marie's own words via tape recordings, and Keough's own reflections of her relationship with her mother. Now, Keough has announced a book tour in support of the book. For the tour, she will also be joined by currently unnamed special guests at each of the tour stops. The tour will take place across six dates in October, with stops in New York City (10/9), Memphis's Graceland (10/12), St. Louis (10/13), Nashville (10/14), London, UK (10/15) and Los Angeles (10/20). Lisa Marie Presley, born in 1968, was the only child of Elvis and Priscilla and died of a small bowel obstruction at the age of 54 after an emergency admission to the hospital in Jan. 2023. She went on to pursue her own music career, within which she released three studio albums, namely To Whom It May Concern in 2003, Now What in 2004, and Storm And Grace in 2012. The former two albums peaked in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 album charts. - NME, 7/31/24...... 
U.S. House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries announced on Aug. 1 that a bronze statue of country icon Johnny Cash will become the first professional musician to take its place in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. The tribute to Cash will be unveiled during a ceremony in the Capitol's Emancipation Hall on Sept. 24. The eight-foot tall statue of a stern-looking Cash holding a Bible and a guitar was designed by sculptor Kevin Kresse, who says he "couldn't be happier with these choices for Arkansas... I'm also extremely proud to be a native son of Arkansas, getting this opportunity to sculpt an Arkansas icon for the nation's Capitol." Cash, born in Dyess, AR, will be enshrined alongside civil rights activist Daisy Bates, whose statue was put in place in May. With his signature rumbling baritone voice and songs of faith, murder, longing and love, Cash was a beloved country outlaw best known for such iconic tracks as "I Walk the Line," "Ring of Fire," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Man in Black" and "Daddy Sang Bass," and many others. Cash's enshrinement will place him in good company alongside such historic figures as Amelia Earhart, inventor Thomas Alva Edison, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Andrew Jackson, Hellen Keller, astronaut John Swigert, Jr., George Washington and many others. Johnson, Jeffries, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Cash's family are expected to attend the unveiling. Cash died in 2003 at age 71 due to respiratory failure tied to complications from diabetes. The announcement and a picture of the statue can be viewed on Instagram and X. - Billboard, 8/2/24...... Ozzy Osbourne has apologized to Britney Spears for mocking the pop singer's dance videos on the latest episode of his clan's The Osbournes podcast. The spat originally began in mid-July ago when Ozzy criticized Spears' dancing videos, saying on the podcast that he was, "fed up of seeing poor old Britney Spears [dancing] on YouTube every f---in' day. It's sad, very, very sad," with wife Sharon Osbourne adding, "poor little thing." At the time, Spears shot back with a terse Instagram post that has since been deleted, in which she said, "I'm gonna tell the Osbourne family who is the most boring family known to mankind to kindly f--k off!" After first replaying Ozzy's offensive comments, Ozzy offered up a less appeasing peace offer than offspring Jack Osbourne and Kelly. "Britney, I really owe you an apology," Ozzy said. "I'm so sorry for making that comment. However, it would be better if you didn't do the same f---ing dance every day! Change a few movements I love Britney Spears, but it's the same dance every day!" That comment drew a loud guffaw from Jack, while Kelly noted that she is a fan of Britney's dancing -- "Britney, never stop dancing, I love your dancing it makes you happy" -- while apologizing on behalf of the family if she felt offense, with Sharon adding "I like Britney a lot." The family also objected to Ozzy's claim that it was, literally, the same dance every day, with Kelly and Jack noting that sometimes "there's knives." Ozzy then leaned into a less strings-attached amends, adding, "I really do apologize. I love you and I think you're beautiful." Spears has long made a habit of posting dance videos from her home in which she does interpretive moves to her favorite songs. Ozzy's apology can be viewed on Instagram. - Billboard, 7/30/24...... 
In an interview with Britain's Mojo magazine, the L.A.-based pop duo Sparks says they "feel an obligation" to continue making high-quality music. Sparks, made up of brothers Ron and Russell Mael, have released 26 albums in a career spanning more than half a century but refuse to let the standard of their work diminish as they are always gaining new fans. "There are so many newer fans that have kind of come our way of late," Ron said. "We feel an obligation, which we always do, to keep the quality high. We're lovers of pop music, and we think it's a disservice to pop music to come out with stuff that isn't cool." Sparks are preparing to release another new album in 2025 and Ron explained that the band are going against convention by making their music more "aggressive" as they grow older. "I think that the assumption for a band that, say, has been around for as long and has made as many albums as we have -- I won't mention years - is that we would be introspective and mellow down a touch," says Ron, 78. "You know, the usual things where musicians try to come to grips with mortality and all those sorts of things. We're not like that. It still has a pretty high degree of aggression to it, I think." Russell, 75, added that the forthcoming album will be "consistent" with the "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" band's previous material. "I think it's consistent with the lyric universe that Sparks has always had, with some issues that are maybe not treated so much in normal pop music, or issues that are, treated in a way that's not clichéd," he said. - Music-News.com, 7/28/24.
After Republican Vice President candidate JD Vance's comments in a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson that "We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and choices that they've made" recently went viral on the internet and mainstream media, Bette Midler took to X on July 25 to playfully rally her fellow "childless cat ladies" of the world by sharing a photo of the iconic cat lover herself, Taylor Swift, on the cover of Time magazine with her beloved cat Benjamin Button lounging over her shoulder. "Giddyup and GO, #ChildlessCatLadies!" Midler wrote. Another celebrity to take a stand against Vance is Jennifer Aniston, who has been open with her struggles with fertility over the past few years. She aimed Vance's decision to vote in June to block legislation that would protect access to IVF. "I truly can't believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States," the Friends actress wrote on her Instagram Stories. "All I can say is Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too." - Billboard, 7/25/24...... 
Billy Joel concluded his historic 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City with a sold-out show on July 25. To mark the occasion, The Tonight Show talk show host Jimmy Fallon joined the Piano Man to present him with a banner celebrating 150 shows at the New York venue. "Congratulations," Fallon said. "I love you. New York City loves you. The world loves you. You've given us all great memories of being here. And now we get to watch you get a memory. You're never going to forget this night here." Joel's two youngest daughters, Della, eight, and Remy, six, then took to the stage to join dad as he performed his 1978 hit "My Life." Joel was also joined on stage by Guns N' Roses star Axl Rose, with the duo performing renditions of Wings' "Live and Let Die" and AC/DC's "Highway to Hell." Fan video of the Rose and Joel performances has been shared on YouTube. Joel then continued with a number of hits including "Uptown Girl," "Only The Good Die Young," "Piano Man,""It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" and "We Didn't Start The Fire," before inviting Axl back on stage for the final song of the night, "You May Be Right," which segued into a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll." Joel kicked off the MSG residency in Jan. 2014 and played at the venue once every month over the next decade. With his final show, he set a record for the arena by giving his 150th lifetime performance on its stage. Joel, 75, will travel to the U.K. in August to play a stadium show in Cardiff, Wales with Chris Isaak. He will then play a series of headlining shows in North America including Cleveland, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Antonio and Las Vegas, sharing the bill with Rod Stewart or Sting. In February, he released his first new pop song in 17 years, "Turn the Lights Back On." - Music-News.com, 7/27/24...... In a new interview with the UK paper The Sun, Rod Stewart reflected on approaching his milestone 80th birthday next Jan. 10. "I'm aware my days are numbered but I've got no fear. We have all got to pass on at some point, so we are all in the same basket," he said. "I am going to be enjoying myself for these last few years as much as I can. I say few -- probably another 15. I can do that easy mate, easy," he added. "I'm not like I was in the '70s and '80s and I can't stay up all night, get drunk and go mad and still have a voice just like that. Nowadays I have to protect my voice before and after every show." In February it was reported that Stewart had sold his back catalogue for close to $100 million (£79.3million) to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists, who now owns his publishing catalogue, recorded music and a stake of Stewart's likeness and image rights. In a statement to the The Wall Street Journal, Stewart said of the deal: "Irving and I are a couple of old-timers and I believe we have a mutual respect and admiration for each other. My life's work is in safe hands with him." Meanwhile, Stewart was recently booed at a gig in Germany after he expressed his support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. - NME, 7/28/24...... 
Speaking to The Sunday Mirror, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason discussed the potential to forge a Pink Floyd reunion via artificial intelligence. "It would be fascinating to see what AI could do with new music. If you tried to run it as a sort of 'Where did Pink Floyd go after?'," Mason said. "The thing to do would be to have an AI situation where David [Gilmour] and Roger [Waters] become friends again," he continued, adding: "We could be like ABBA by the time we've finished with it." Mason also spoke of the feud between Waters and Gilmour, who declared Pink Floyd was over in 2015 by saying the band had "run its course," and Waters, expressing disappointment that it had overshadowed the band: "In a 55-year career, most of it was great fun. We were enormously privileged to be in a successful band and tour the world and hang out with really interesting people. It's a gold card to meet all sorts of your favourite sportsmen and actors." Mason, who currently plays some of Floyd's earlier music as Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets alongside Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp and bassist Guy Pratt, also reflected on continuing to perform Floyd songs. "The best thing about keeping the thing going is for our benefit," he said. "It makes sense to keep it going rather than shutting it down. I also enjoy it because the more time passes, the more you can look at it with a rosier glint." Gilmour has also discussed the possibility of an ABBA-style Floyd show, saying he would agree to it under "a series of very, very difficult and onerous conditions." "I thought the images of them were sort of OK, but they weren't ever going to convince me it was real," he once said of his experience watching ABBA's Voyage show. "If you're down the sort of mosh pit end of the thing and it's all going on, it's probably great. The best moment for me was when the live band played a song ['Does Your Mother Know'] on their own." When asked if a Pink Floyd hologram show would ever be a possibility, he answered: "If someone came up with all the money and all the brilliant ideas -- and then once we've agreed to a series of very, very difficult and onerous conditions -- I'd say, 'Yeah, OK.'" - New Musical Express, 7/28/24...... Actor Jeremy Allen White, star of the FX comedy-drama series The Bear and was tapped back in January to play Bruce Springsteen in an upcoming biopic, has apparently been texting with the Boss in the hopes of meeting him in London to prepare for his upcoming role. White revealed to Variety that he has "texted and emailed" Springsteen in the run up to the New Jersey rocker's July 27 show at London's Wembley Stadium. "I'm really excited to see him perform," White said, cheekily adding that Springsteen texts "like a boss." The film is reportedly set to explore the making of Springsteen's 1982 classic album Nebraska. Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Hostiles) will write and direct the film, which is based on Warren Zane's 2023 book, Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. In other Bruce news, Springsteen will be in Toronto, Canada, in early September during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival for the debut of longtime collaborator Thom Zimny's Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, a documentary that follows the singer-songwriter's latest world tour. He also recently took part in Mark Knopfler's star-studded charity re-recording of "Going Home," which also featured the likes of Brian May, Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood and many more. - NME/Canoe.com, 7/27/24...... 
Pete Townshend has released a new box set of live solo performances, Live in Concert 1985 - 2001, which assembles some of The Who guitarist's most memorable live shows away from the band in an expanded 14-CD box set and digital offering featuring seven long-out-of-print live albums. When the compilation landed at his door in late June, Townshend says he grew reflective thinking about his time away from The Who that has been an indelible part of music since their 1965 debut My Generation. "I needed a creative outlet outside of The Who. I needed to be a solo artist," Townshend said of his independent tours and seven solo studio albums -- 1972's Who Came First; 1977's Rough Mix; 1980's Empty Glass; 1982's All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes; 1985's White City: A Novel; 1989's The Iron Man and the 1993 concept album Psychoderelict. But listening back through the new anthology, Townshend says he's reminded how he's never felt at home onstage. "The weird thing about me, compared to most artists, is despite the fact that I look like I'm enjoying myself, I don't really feel that," he muses. "It's not that I don't feel good about performing, I just don't know who that guy is that's up there on the stage. He isn't me. As a creative, I'm happiest in a studio. I don't like touring. I don't like travelling. I like to be at home in my studio being creative on my own." Townshend, 79, said that his decision to really embrace an identity as a solo artist was inspired by the death of the band's original drummer Keith Moon in 1978. "Keith Moon's death came at a time where The Who were already struggling creatively. After Keith died, I think the logical thing for me would have been to end my tenure with The Who and choose a solo career," he said. "I thought it would be good to work with a different drummer, because Keith's style was very much decorative. It was not a rhythmic style and I'd been contained in a sense with The Who." - Canoe.com, 7/27/24...... German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk paid tribute to the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto with a cover of "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence" on July 27 at the Fuji Rock Festival in the renowned composer's home country of Japan. "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence" is taken from the 1983 war film of the same name, whose soundtrack was the first that Sakamoto created in his illustrious career. Indeed, his soundtrack has been credited as one of the key reasons the film went on to become a cult classic despite mixed reviews from critics. Sakamoto also starred in the film alongside David Bowie, which was based on the experiences of Sir Laurens van der Post, a prisoner of war in Java during World War II. Sakamoto died in March 2023 at the age of 71, having been diagnosed with cancer for the second time in a decade. Sakamoto was originally diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, which is now in remission, but shared details of a rectal cancer in 2021. A posthumous album, Opus, is set to be released on Aug. 9. Kraftwerk's version of "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence" has been shared on X. - NME, 7/27/24...... Dick Asher, a music industry pioneer who served as president at PolyGram and Columbia Records and worked with some of music's biggest names, including Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi, died peacefully at his home in Boca Raton, Fla., on July 25. He was 92. Born in New York City in 1932, Mr. Asher began his professional journey after graduating from Tufts University and Cornell Law School. After serving in the Marine Corps, he joined CBS Records (now Sony Music) in the mid-1960s as vp of business affairs. Following Bob Dylan's near-fatal motorcycle accident in 1966, Mr. Asher famously traveled to Woodstock, N.Y., to negotiate the superstar's contract renewal. Mr. Asher left CBS to briefly work at Capitol Records but returned to the label in 1971 to work with Clive Davis at Columbia Records. He later served as deputy president of Columbia, where he played a crucial role in stabilizing the company's finances. In the 1980s, Mr. Asher stood up to the powerful network of independent promoters known as "The Network," who had monopolized radio airplay through payola and other questionable practices. To do this, he released Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" without their involvement, an episode recounted in the book Hit Men by Frederic Dannen. His resistance to The Network ultimately helped lead to Congressional hearings that exposed and dismantled the group's operations in the mid-1980s. Mr. Asher's tenure at Columbia ended in 1983 after conflicts with the company's president, Walter Yetnikoff. He subsequently joined Warner Communications and later became the president/CEO of PolyGram Records in 1985. During his time at PolyGram, the company released several blockbuster albums, including Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet and Def Leppard's Hysteria. He left PolyGram in 1990 following a contractual dispute and returned to law practice, providing consultancy services to various artists and companies. Later, Mr. Asher became an original director for Electronic Arts for more than two decades. In the 1990s, he moved to Florida and joined Florida Atlantic University as an affiliate professor of commercial music. He is survived by his wife, Sheila, a son, Jeffrey, and four grandchildren. - Billboard, 7/25/24...... 
During her set at Glasgow's OVO Hydro stadium on July 24, Stevie Nicks opened up about the health condition that had impacted her UK tour earlier in July and led to her postponing shows in Glasgow and Manchester, with her camp stating she had "sustained a leg injury" and required a "minor surgical procedure" as a result. "I don't know what happened," she told the audience. "I just got this weird infection, and it just went crazy." Nicks went on to say that she was staying at a "fabulous castle" in Scotland with some of her crew at the time, adding: "We get here days early because we want to be here for a few days." She continued: "I finally just looked at my assistant -- it was like two in the morning -- and I said, 'I think we need to go to emergency'. She looked at me and I said, 'I'm not kidding! I think we need to go to the hospital'. And so our butler -- this wonderful man -- throws us in his BMW Sedan, and off we sped through the night to a hospital." Nicks confirmed that she spent two days in hospital. "They let me go back to the castle, and we cancelled this show," she explained. "This whole tour I've been fighting what started here, and I would be damned if I wasn't coming back here." Fan shot footage of Nicks's speech can be viewed on YouTube. Before fulfilling her planned dates in Manchester and Glasgow, Nicks headlined BST Hyde Park in London where she was joined onstage by Harry Styles. The pair played an emotional joint rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" in tribute to Christine McVie on what would have been the late musician's birthday. They also performed "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" -- Nicks' 1981 collaboration with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. - NME, 7/25/24...... John Bennett, a veteran BBC Northern Ireland broadcaster, died peacefully on the evening of July 26, surrounded by his family. No cause of death has been given. Mr. Bennett's broadcasting career spanned almost 60 years. During that time, he became one of Northern Ireland's most famous radio personalities, presenting music, entertainment, sports and current affairs programmes for the BBC since 1965. In 1974, on New Year's Eve, he co-launched BBC Radio Ulster alongside Gloria Hunniford. Hunniford has shared a tribute to Mr. Bennett, calling him "A giant in broadcasting." "He was a truly gifted, gracious and generous man," she added. "His contribution to audiences in Northern Ireland and beyond is immeasurable." He was most celebrated for his work on The Sunday Club, which he presented for over 44 years. In Jan. 2023, Mr. Bennett was awarded an MBE for services to Television and Radio Broadcasting. Shortly after, he was inducted into the IMRO Radio Awards Hall of Fame. His citation said that he had "left an indelible mark on the broadcasting landscape." - NME, 7/29/24...... A Polish television journalist has been suspended by the Polish state broadcaster for reacting to an Olympic Games opening ceremony performance of John Lennon's "Imagine" by saying it was a "vision of communism." TVP, the Polish broadcaster, issued a statement that day saying that the journalist and sports commentator, Przemyslaw Babiarz, would not be allowed to comment on air anymore during this summer's Games. Lennon's song asks to imagine no heaven or hell, no countries, and no possessions. "This is a vision of communism, unfortunately," Babiarz said during the grand opening ceremony along the Seine River in Paris -- comments that immediately triggered controversy for those watching in Poland. TVP said in its statement announcing his suspension: "Mutual understanding, tolerance, reconciliation -- these are not only the basic ideas of the Olympics, they are also the foundation of the standards that guide the new Polish Television. There is no consent to violate them." State media has been an ideological battleground in Poland for years. It was used as a mouthpiece by the right-wing populists who governed Poland from 2015-23. However Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a centrist politician whose broad coalition took power in December, acted quickly to remove their control of the airwaves. Many Polish conservatives condemned the mixing of LGBTQ+ themes with a Last Supper tableau during the opening ceremony. - AP, 7/28/24...... 
It has been revealed that William L. Calley Jr., a junior Army officer who became the only person convicted in connection with the My Lai Massacre of 1968, died on Apr. 28 at a hospice center in Gainesville, Fla. He was 80. The Washington Post obtained a copy of his death certificate from the Florida Department of Health in Alachua County. The Post was alerted to the death, which was not previously reported, by Zachary Woodward, a recent Harvard Law School graduate who said he noticed Mr. Calley's death while looking through public records. Although he was once the country's most notorious Army officer, a symbol of military misconduct in a war that many considered immoral and unwinnable, Mr. Calley had lived in obscurity for decades, declining interviews while working as a jeweler in Columbus, Ga., not far from the military base where he was court-martialed and convicted in 1971. A junior-college dropout from South Florida, Mr. Calley found a home in a military that was desperately trying to replenish its lower ranks as the war escalated in Vietnam. Mr. Calley was quickly tapped to become a junior officer, with minimal vetting, and was soon promoted to second lieutenant, commanding a platoon in Charlie Company, a unit of the Army's Americal Division. The company sustained heavy losses in the early months of 1968, losing men to sniper fire, land mines and booby traps as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launched coordinated attacks in the Tet Offensive. On the morning of Mar. 16, 1968, the unit was airlifted by helicopter to Son My, a patchwork village of rice paddies, irrigation ditches and small settlements, including a hamlet known to U.S. soldiers as My Lai 4. Over the next few hours, Mr. Calley and other soldiers in Charlie Company shot and bayoneted women, children and elderly men, destroying the village while searching for Viet Cong guerrillas and sympathizers who were said to have been hiding in the area. Homes were burned, and some women and girls were gang-raped before being killed. An Army investigation later concluded that 347 men, women and children had been killed, including victims of another American unit, Bravo Company. A Vietnamese estimate placed the death toll at 504. For more than a year and a half, the details of the atrocity were hidden and covered up from the public. A report to headquarters initially characterized the attack as a significant victory, claiming that 128 "enemy" fighters had been killed. Gen. William C. Westmoreland, the top commander in Vietnam, praised American forces at My Lai for dealing a "heavy blow" to the Viet Cong. - The Washington Post, 7/28/24.
After weeks of mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, Pres. Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he was doing just that -- shortly after which he endorsed his own vice president, Kamala Harris, to take on the role instead. Among the many musicians of all generations to immediately throw their support to Harris were '70s superstars Barbra Streisand and Carole King. Streisand posted a fierce defense of the Biden-Harris administration on 
A pair of John Lennon's tinted glasses along with a collection of photographs taken of The Beatles at Abbey Road Studio in London are set to go up for auction on July 31 at Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey, UK. According to BBC, Lennon's glasses -- a pair of round specs with blue-tinted lenses -- were gifted to a man who was visiting Abbey Road Studios by the late musician himself back in 1968. Speaking about the specs, a spokesperson for Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers said that they were handed to the man by Lennon after the man saw them placed on top of a piano. "The young man saw the spectacles lying on the piano and went to pick them up but was told by his then girlfriend to leave them, to which Lennon replied, 'It's OK, he can have them'," they said. They are expected to reach roughly £3,000 at the auction. A collection of 33 black and white photos taken at Abbey Road will also be auctioned along with the copyright for an estimated £200 to £300. The photographs include shots of Lennon and his bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr as well as producer George Martin snapped on the day of the photoshoot for the band's Abbey Road album cover of the band walking across a zebra crossing. - NME, 7/22/24...... In an interview with LifeMinute, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford said that his cancer was still in remission, four years after being diagnosed with the disease. Back in 2021, Halford revealed that: "I had my little cancer battle a year ago, which I got through and that's in remission now, thank God," he said at the time. "That happened while we were all locked down, so things happen for a reason as far as time sequence of events. I have nothing but gratitude to be at this point in my life, still doing what I love the most." Now, he's spoken about still being in remission following his treatment. He explained: "I always take an opportunity to thank the Lord for me being here still, but also my great medical team. And guys, be proactive. Make sure you get your blood work done, your PSA [prostate-specific antigen] checked. I couldn't believe how efficient and the love and the care and the attention that health workers give to each and every one of us." "I had my prostate removed," he continued. "I had some meds and follow-up treatment found a little bit more stuff, so we had to go in for two months of radiation treatment. You do what you've gotta do. The important thing is to stay optimistic, stay positive." He added: "I love my family, my healthcare people that want the best for you. So you can push through it. So anybody that's struggling with that right now, keep that heavy metal faith. With all the due care and diligence and attention, you'll survive." Halford's full interview can be streamed on 
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on July 19, Scottish pop legend Lulu opened up about her hearing problem. "If you're 75 I don't think your hearing is going to be good as it used to be," Lulu, 75, explained. "But if you're in the rock 'n' roll business, if you're a performer, and a lot of them... are deaf!" She added, "They have no hearing at all." Lulu then revealed that she had recently had her hearing tested. "And yes, moderate hearing loss but you know me, I don't want to not hear people!" she said. "I want to hear everything and my music." The 
Prolific songwriter-producer Jerry Fuller died of lung cancer on July 18 at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 85. Mr. Fuller wrote two songs that reached No. 1 on hit parade: Ricky Nelson's "Travelin' Man" in 1961 and Al Wilson's 
Abdul Kareem "Duke" Fakir, the last of the original Four Tops and a stalwart of Motown's golden age died from heart failure on July 22. He was 88. Mr. Fakir, who co-founded the Four Tops in 1953, had been in poor health, including bladder cancer and had retired from touring late last year. Mr. Fakir was born in Detroit on Dec. 26, 1935; his father was a factory worker who'd come over from what is now Bangladesh. He played football, basketball and ran track in high school, meeting Stubbs through neighborhood football games; the two began singing after separately attending a variety show, eventually recruiting Payton and Benson to form the group, first called The Aims but later changed to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers. The Four Tops recorded without success for several labels -- including Chess, Red Top, Riverside and Columbia -- and supported Billy Eckstine before signing with Motown in 1963. The group started out recording standards for the label's Workshop Jazz Records imprint, but when the songwriting/production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland gave The Tops "Baby I Need Your Loving" in mid-1964, it hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, which opened the floodgates for a string of hits that included "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "It's the Same Old Song." The Tops had several stints with Motown, and away from that company it also had hits with "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," "Are You Man Enough" and "When She Was My Girl." The Tops were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Fakir accepted a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the band in 2009. "Reach Out I'll Be There" was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 20AbA22. With his glasses and angular frame, Mr. Fakir was arguably the most recognizable of The Tops and maintained his leadership in the group following the deaths of Levi Stubbs in 2008, Renaldo "Obie" Benson in 2005 and Lawrence Payton in 1997 (his son Lawrence Payton Jr. is part of the current lineup). In addition to his memoir, Mr. Fakir was also working on a stage musical based on The Four Tops' story. "I'm at such a loss," said Otis Williams of The Temptations. "He is now with Levi, Lawrence and Peyton, singing for God. I miss you and love you, brother." Mr. Fakir is survived by his wife, Piper, five sons, 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. - Billboard, 7/22/24...... 
Influential British blues musician John Mayall, whose band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for the likes of Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other rock superstars, died on July 22 at his home in California. He was 90. "Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world's greatest road warriors," a post on his 
Forbes magazine has declared Bruce Springsteen a billionaire by a "conservative" estimate. On July 19, the publication reported the Boss, 74, had reached an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. In terms of other musicians who've crossed into billionaire status, he ranks under Jay-Z ($2.5 billion), Rihanna ($1.4 billion) and Taylor Swift ($1.3 billion). Much of Springsteen's wealth comes from his decades-spanning catalog, which he sold back to his longtime label -- Sony's Columbia Records -- for a whopping $500 million in 2021, the largest deal ever for an individual body of work. At that point, his recordings had racked up 65.5 million sales in the U.S., including his iconic multiplatinum albums Born In The U.S.A. and The River. Springsteen has had only praise for his label, Columbia Records, who he says "have treated me with the greatest respect as an artist and as a person." The New Jersey rocker has also remained a touring force well into the later years of his career, with his 2023 world tour selling more than 1.6 million tickets and generating $380 million in revenue, according to Pollstar. He and his E Street Band are currently on tour again, with dates planned all the way up through July of 2025. Springsteen has also nabbed another chart first; recently making his debut on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for his appearance on Zach Bryan's "Sandpaper." It also marked Springsteen's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in over 15 years. The track entered at Nos. 26 and 71 on the respective charts. Springsteen showed up to duet with Bryan on "Sandpaper" on March 27 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The song is drawing comparisons to Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" -- one of seven Hot 100 top 10s from his Born in the U.S.A. album in 1984-86 -- which Bryan has covered in concert. Meanwhile, England fans' embrace of Springsteen's 1984 classic "Dancing In The Dark" to sing the praises of footballer Phil Foden at the Euros 2024 has paid off -- the song has re-entered the UK Top 40 for the first time in 39 years. The last time "Dancing In The Dark" was in the Top 40 was Apr. 1985. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 7/19/24...... Attorneys for Priscilla Presley filed a scathing lawsuit against four of her former business partners over allegations of elder abuse and fraud, accusing them of a "meticulously planned" scheme to drain Elvis Presley's ex-wife of "every last penny she had." In a complaint filed on July 18 in Los Angeles court, lawyers for Presley, 79, accuse Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, Vahe Sislyan and Lynn Walker Wright of fraudulently convincing her to give them power over nearly every aspect of her life -- and then abusing that control to steal her money. Calling Kruse a "con-artist and pathological liar," high-profile L.A. attorney Martin Singer, who now represents Presley, says the defendants took more than $1 million from Priscilla and convinced her to sign a deal that would give them 80% of her future income. "The fact that the plaintiff in this case is internationally recognized actress, author, and cultural icon & demonstrates both how effective the defendants' plan was (and needed to be), and how anyone can be a victim of elder abuse and fraud," Singer writes. The new case comes eight months after Kruse's company, Priscilla Presley Partners, filed its own lawsuit against Priscilla in Florida. That case claimed that Presley illegally turned her back on Kruse and Fialko after they had helped her "dig herself out of impending financial ruin," including negotiating the deal that led to last year's Priscilla biopic. But in the new lawsuit, Singer argues that the earlier case was merely a cover for Kruse and Fialko's alleged misdeeds. Singer and Priscilla's other attorneys say that Kruse and the others "established a personal relationship" with her and then used it to "isolate her from her long-time business and financial advisors," whom they argued were "deceitful or incompetent" and causing her to lose money. Once they had isolated her, the lawsuit says, Kruse and the others took steps to "fraudulently induce" Presley into signing over power of attorney, giving them control over her trusts and bank accounts, and signing deals with "sham" companies like Priscilla Presley Partners. One of those deals, the lawsuit says, gave the defendants "an exclusive license to exploit and profit off of her name, image, and likeness, and to control and receive virtually all of her income from any of her professional ventures." Neither side has yet to comment on the lawsuit. - Billboard, 7/19/24...... 
On July 18 Paul McCartney sent a special message to Cincinatti at the debut of his "Liverpool Oratorio" opera. While the city did not get the get the breathlessly hoped-for drop-in from the former Beatles icon at the world premiere of the Cincinnati Opera's take on Sir Paul's "Liverpool Oratorio," they did get a very special message from the night's absent guest of honor. "Hello, Cincinnati! Good evening. I'm so excited to hear that the Cincinnati Opera is putting on my Liverpool Oratorio," McCartney said in a pre-taped message that played for the capacity crowd in Cincinnati Music Hall's 2,300-capacity Springer Auditorium before the opening night of the fresh take on his first classical composition. "This work is really special for me because it was the first large scale thing like this that I'd done, and it's largely based on a lot of events from my childhood. The school I went to& the teacher, Miss Inkley, who was the only female teacher in a school of a thousand boys. So it's really true, as it says in the opera, where she says, 'Hello, boys. You can call me, 'Sir,'" McCartney continued. "Well, as 11-year-olds, it's a little difficult to make sense of that. But anyway, I love the piece, and I love that you're doing it there in Cincinnati. So I hope you have a great evening. Thank you very much for putting it on. I wish I was there with you, but I can't be there. So I'm here. So have a great one. Thank you." And though the 82-year-old Beatle wasn't on hand to see the Opera's high-energy take on his eight-movement homage to his hometown, in the weeks leading up to the debut the city was blanketed with a blizzard of posters, social media messages and memes encouraging locals to help "Get Paul to the Hall." The effort was intended to spur interest in the $1.3 million original production that over the course of 90 minutes tells the story a "war baby" named Shanty, who, like McCartney, comes into a fiery world engulfed in the air raid blitz of WWII. At the final dress rehearsal on July 16, the cast was dialed in to the tale that mixes hope, tragedy, redemption and joy into a joyous spectacle that unfolds on a massive map of Liverpool. After its debut more than 30 years ago, the piece written for orchestra and vocalists has not been performed very often, but the energy and spirit of the Cincinnati Opera's refreshing version seems destined to give the Liverpool Oratorio a second life. Photos from the production can be viewed on 
The 2024 Kennedy Center Honors will feature a mix of the psychedelic and the soulful with a touch of jazz. Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and jazz trumpeter/pianist/composer Arturo Sandoval will be among this years class announced on July 18 that also includes legendary director Francis Ford Coppola and New York's Apollo theater. In a first, The Apollo theater in Harlem in a special honor as an "iconic American Institution." "It goes without saying that the Kennedy Center Honors represents the highest of reaches for artistic achievement," the Grateful Dead's surviving members wrote in a joint statement. "To be recognized alongside the artists who have in the past received this honor is beyond humbling. The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation.... so it also must be said that our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us. This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours." In a statement, Raitt said, "I am deeply honored and thrilled to have been chosen to receive one of this year's Kennedy Center Honors. I have long been an admirer of the awards and have been so blessed to be able to participate in several shows honoring others.... I want to extend my sincere thanks to all who have chosen me to receive this honor. I look forward to the upcoming ceremony and festivities, which I know will be one of my life's peak experiences." The Kennedy Center Honors celebrates individuals whose unique contributions to American arts and culture at an event where the the honorees are seated in the box tier of the Kennedy Center Opera House while their peers pay homage with performances and tributes. The event that will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center For the Performing Arts in WasThe Greatest Night in Pop, a deep dive into the 1985 recording session that produced "We Are the World," has been nominated for an Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special Emmy award-- and Lionel Richie is celebrating the accomplishment. "I am still amazed by what we accomplished in 1985 and I'm even more amazed after receiving an Emmy nomination for 'The Greatest Night In Pop,'" the Richie wrote in a statement. "It has been an absolute joy to be able to bring this moment in history to life alongside @netflix. A big thank you and congratulations to all of the artists and participants for making 'We Are The World' happen, and thank you to the @televisionacad for recognizing our documentary." The documentary follows the group of 45 all-star musicians -- Richie included -- who gathered together Jan. 25, 1985, as they "checked their egos at the door and recorded a song to benefit African famine relief that would alter global pop culture history," the official synopsis for the film reads. The Greatest Night in Pop included never-before-seen footage of the song's planning and writing process, as well as Henson Studios where the recording of the track took place. The film is also up for Directing For a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Sound Editing For a Nonfiction or Reality Program. - Billboard, 7/17/24...... 
Bob Newhart, the beloved stand-up performer whose droll, deadpan humor showcased on two critically acclaimed CBS sitcoms vaulted him into the ranks of history's greatest comedians, died on the morning of July 18. He was 94. Jerry Digney, his longtime publicist, said the Chicago legend died at his Los Angeles home after a series of short illnesses. George Robert Newhart was born on Sept. 5, 1929, in Oak Park, Ill. He grew up a Cubs fan and participated in the team's victory parade down La Salle Street after Chicago took the National League pennant in 1945. Mr. Newhart never dreamed of being in show business; in fact, such a gaudy profession ran against the Midwestern grain of his personality and perhaps was why he would connect with Middle America. After attending St. Ignatius College Prep and then earning a degree in commerce from Loyola University, Mr. Newhart spent two years in the Army and then flunked out of law school. He then worked as an accountant with U.S. Gypsum and then the Glidden Co., which sold paint. Somehow there's a connection between numbers and music and comedy. I don't know what it is, but I know it's there," he once said in an interview with a college business professor. "I know it's a case of 2 and 2 equals 5 in terms of a comedian. You take this fact and you take that fact and then you come up with this ludicrous fact." To combat the tedium at work, Mr. Newhart and a friend would amuse themselves by making prank phone calls. He refined those into what was then his signature comic bit: having a one-sided phone conversation (the audience got to imagine what the other side of the chat was like). He and his pal also sold a syndicated radio show in which they did five-minute comedy routines five days a week for $7.50 a week. In 1972, MTM Enterprises cast the modest comic as clinical psychologist Bob Hartley, who practiced in the real-life Newhart's favorite burg, Chicago. 
Frank Zappa's canon of music features no shortage of eclectic material, but perhaps his most accessible release, 1974's 
As Billy Joel prepares to wrap up his record-setting decade-long residency at Madison Square Garden on July 25, the Piano Man sat down for an interview with the Today show's Willie Geist for an interview on July 14. "Well, I'm kind of sad that it's ending," Joel says of the series that has sold more than 1.6 million tickets to date. "You know, 10 years in Madison Square Garden is beyond my dreams as a musician. We were the house band for 10 years at the Garden, which I think is the best performance venue in the world." Now, to be clear, Joel says that the end of the run doesn't mean he'll never play MSG again, just that this seemingly unbeatable record string of shows is reaching its natural end. Plus, Joel says, 150 feels like a "good round number" to bow out on. When he kicked the residency off more than a decade ago, Joel told Geist he never imagined it would last this long, assuming there would be a peak and then a slow eventual decline. "But that hasn't happened, they're buying more tickets recently than they were at the beginning," he says of the sold-out shows, noting that he could have easily kept going, but that after a decade he felt like it was "all right already" and although he's had some second thoughts about ending the residency, "I didn't want to outstay my welcome." Joel -- who released his first new pop song in 17 years, "Turn the Lights Back On" in February, played a stadium gig in Denver on July 12, and he's set to play other stadium dates in the UK, Cleveland, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Antonio and Las Vegas that will keep him busy through November. - Billboard, 7/12/24...... Speaking to the streaming channel AXS TV, Queen's Brian May opened up about his late bandmate Freddie Mercury's last days and remembered how he "never ever saw him cry" in his final days. "We'd always said that if one of us goes, that's it. So Roger [Taylor] and I both went out kind of grieving to the max and saying it's over, we don't even want to talk about it for quite a long time," May revealed. He then went on to speak about Freddie and what he was like during his final days. "We made the last album, the Made In Heaven album with the tracks that Freddie had left us to play with and it became a real labour of love because he left some lovely little bits and pieces. He was very undramatic about it," May shared, adding: "I never ever saw him cry or go you know self-pity. He never did that, he was like 'Let's just do it, let's keep doing stuff'. Freddy was always inspiring. If he was here now, we'd be doing what we always do I'm sure." May also discussed Adam Lambert's role within the current incarnation of the band and added that the singer always provides a fresh view on things and is not afraid to be vocal about things they should try. "The songs are not fossils, they're alive and evolving with Adam which is great. Sometimes he blows my mind," May said. Meanwhile the official Queen tribute band Queen Extravaganza, with full backing from May and Taylor, have announced that they are set to embark on a 25-date UK and Ireland tour in 2025 in salute to the 50th anniversary of Queen's signature song, "Bohemian Rhapsody." - NME, 7/15/24...... In an interview with Headbanger News, ex-Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg reflected on filling in for his dad, E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, during Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's concert in Barcelona, Spain on June 22. "For Bruce to basically say, like, 'All right, it's Saturday night in Barcelona. We're gonna use a shot of that energy' that I brought to the song 'Radio Nowhere', that was a true honor," Jay said. "I hadn't played with them in 15 years. But that's my family; it doesn't get more family than that. And I truly love everybody on that tour - I get to watch my dad and his friends become superheroes up there. And that's just an amazing opportunity," he added. While his father was the bandleader on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien in 2009, Jay filled in on several dates on Springsteen's "Working On A Dream" tour. He's currently the drummer for the band Suicidal Tendencies. - NME, 7/11/24...... Veteran music producer Glen Ballard, who has worked with the likes of Aerosmith, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Alanis Morrissette, Annie Lennox, Dave Matthews Band and Wilson Phillips, became the 2,374th recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 11 with a little help from the members of Wilson Phillips, whose self-titled 1990 debut album produced by and co-written with Ballard went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide and cemented the friendship between the producer and the trio. Wilson Phillips' Carnie Wilson who called Ballard "the most humble human being I've ever met" and the "fourth member" of Wilson Phillips, gave a little history lesson, taking the audience back to the trio and Ballard sitting in a his studio in Encino, Calif., "eating our chopped salads and pasta from Emilio's five days a week for two years," while they crafted the album. "You understood our need to sing harmony, our blend. We heard and spoke the same language." Ballard has also had a number of theatrical successes, including "Back to the Future," which is running on Broadway and London's West End. Tony winner Roger Bart, who plays Doc Brown in the Broadway version, also feted Ballard, praising his collaborative spirit. - Billboard, 7/11/24...... 
After suffering a stroke during the first week of July, The Zombies' principal Rod Argent has announced he is retiring from touring effective immediately. According to a press release from the band's managers, the 79-year-old Zombies keyboardist is currently recovering at home after an overnight hospital stay, with doctors advising several months of rest and recuperation. Argent reportedly had spent a weekend in London with his wife Cathy to celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary as well as his birthday before his hospitalization. All upcoming performances on The Zombies' schedule have now been canceled, including the band's two festival shows in the U.K. slated for later in July. A fall 2024 U.S. tour had also been in the works prior to his stroke. "He was already preparing to wind down his live performance schedule after health scares on recent tours," the announcement read. "However, the stroke was an unmistakable warning sign that the risks are too great." Though he will no longer be performing with the English rock trailblazers, who got their start in the early 1960s, Argent plans to continue writing and recording with bandmates Colin Blunstone, Tom Toomey, Sren Koch and Steve Rodford. According to the press release, Rod's "already been back at his piano for some much-needed "'Bach therapy.'" Argent had previously stepped away from The Zombies in 1975 in order to focus on his family and being a songwriter, but agreed to temporarily fill in for a few shows in 1999 -- something that turned into 25 more years of touring and recording with the band. The group has had two albums chart on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart -- 1965's self-titled release and 1969's Odessey & Oracle -- as well as five Hot 100 pop hits over the course of its career, including "Hold Your Head Up" from his band's 1972 LP 
Fitness guru Richard Simmons, whose flamboyant, relentlessly positive persona helped him build a multi-faceted fitness empire included at least 12 books, 10 CDs and 22 DVDs, including five volumes of his signature Sweatin' to the Oldies, died on July 13 at his home in the Hollywood Hills. His death, which appears to be from natural causes, came one day after his 76th birthday. Simmons had a platinum album in 1982 with Reach, which rode the Billboard Hot 200 for 40 weeks. The album consisted of Simmons singing motivational songs such as "What Are You Waiting For?," "You Can Do It," "Wake Up," "Reach" and "Live It." Simmons' colorful personality made him a natural for television, where he achieved his greatest fame. From 1980-84, he headlined his own daytime talk show The Richard Simmons Show, focusing on personal health, fitness, exercise, and healthy cooking. He also made frequent appearances as himself on General Hospital and many other programs. He was also a frequent guest of late-night television and radio talk shows, such as David Letterman's late night talk shows on NBC and CBS as well as The Howard Stern Show, where those hosts knew just how far they could tease Simmons without crossing the line into cruelty. Simmons, dressed in his signature Dolphin shorts and sparkly tank-tops, always seemed to be in on the joke. Born on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans, Simmons grew up in the French Quarter, where, he noted in his biography, "lard was a food group and dessert mandatory." He struggled with his weight from an early age. He reportedly weighed 268 pounds when he graduated high school. Upon moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Simmons developed an interest in fitness. He opened an exercise studio, the Anatomy Asylum, later renamed Slimmons. His interest in fitness helped him lose more than 100 pounds. In 2010, he proudly announced that he had kept that weight off for 42 years. Simmons didn't make any major public appearances after 2014. In February 2017, the podcast Missing Richard Simmons launched, investigating why Simmons left public life so suddenly. In Aug. 2022, in response to continued rumors and a TMZ documentary, What Really Happened to Richard Simmons, Simmons issued a statement to the New York Post that he "is happy, healthy, and living the life he has chosen to live." In March 2024, Simmons revealed that he had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, located underneath his right eye. That same month, he issued a statement clarifying that he is not dying, after a cryptic Facebook post he had written drew public concern. "I am & dying," Simmons had written on Facebook. "Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to enjoy your life to the fullest every single day. Get up in the morning and look at the sky & count your blessings and enjoy." Earlier in 2024, actor Pauly Shore portrayed Simmons in a short film called The Court Jester, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival. In promoting the movie, Shore teased the production of a larger biopic on the fitness icon. Simmons, however, made it clear that he was not on board with the film. "You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore," Simmons wrote in a post. "I have never given my permission for this movie. So don't believe everything you read." - Billboard, 7/14/24...... 
Shelley Duvall, the saucer-eyed, rail-thin waif who starred in seven films directed by her mentor, Robert Altman, and avoided the ax wielded by an unhinged Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror classic The Shining, died in her sleep of complications from diabetes at her home in Blanco, Tex., on July 11. She was 75. "My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she's free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley," said Dan Gilroy, her life partner since 1989. Born Shelley Alexis Duvall in Fort Worth on July 7, 1949, Duvall was discovered by Altman staff members while attending junior college in her hometown of Houston and talked into taking a screen test. She then made her onscreen debut as teenage seductress and Astrodome tour guide Suzanne Davis in Brewster McCloud (1970). A decade later, Duvall sang and starred opposite Robin Williams as the iconic comic-strip character Olive Oyl, the strong-willed damsel in distress, in Altman's live-action adaptation of Popeye. In between, the childlike star collaborated with Altman as a mail-order bride in 
Dave Loggins, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter best known for his 1974 hit 
On July 9 Columbia/Legacy Recordings announced a mammoth 27-disc, 431-track live box set of Bob Dylan's shows with The Band will be released on Sept. 20. 
Patti LaBelle, 80, is celebrating 65 years in the entertainment industry with an "8065" US tour representing her Grammy-winning music career that began in the early '60s as frontwoman for Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles, which evolved into the innovative trio LaBelle in the '70s with Nona Hendryx and the late Sarah Dash before LaBelle embarked on a solo career. On a recent date at the Hollywood Bowl, her soaring vocals especially took center stage on the ballad "If Only You Knew" -- eliciting a standing ovation -- and on show closer 
On Dec. 4, 1971, Deep Purple were in Montreux, Switzerland to record their latest album, which would go on to be 1972's 
Scottish folk rock musician Joe Egan, who co-founded and co-fronted the Scottish band Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty, died on July 6. He was 77. The news was confirmed on the Facebook page of the late Rafferty, who died in 2011. Rafferty's daughter Martha, who runs the official page, shared a series of images of Rafferty and Egan together alongside her message. "Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon," Martha posted on July 7. Born on Oct. 18, 1946 in Renfrewshire, Scotland, Egan played in various smaller British bands, such as The Sensors and The Maverix, and worked as a session musician, before forming Stealers Wheel with Rafferty in 1972. Stealers Wheel was best known for their 1973 debut single, "Stuck In The Middle With You," from its