Elton John has reportedly snapped up a batch of actress Gwyneth Paltrow's sensational new scented candles, irreverently titled "This Smells Like My Vagina" candles. Perfumer Douglas Little, who came up with the wax wonder with the Shakespeare In Love Oscar winner, says Sir Elton is "a fan" and has bought a "ton of them." Paltrow and Little unveiled the cheeky candle earlier in January, revealing the idea started out as a joke. "We were kind of messing around and I smelled this beautiful thing and I was like, 'This smells like my vagina'," Paltrow said in a recent interview. "I was kidding, obviously. It was really funny to us." Paltrow's "This Smells Like My Vagina" candle retails for $75, and is available via the Oscar-winning actress' online Goop wellness store. - WENN/Canoe.com, 1/24/20...... '70s singer/songwriter legend John Prine was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy during the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards at L.A.'s Staples Center on Jan. 26. Bonnie Raitt paid tribute to Prine with an abbreviated acoustic version of Prine's classic "Angel From Montgomery," after which she pointed to Prine in the audience and said he "wrote 'Angel From Montgomery' and so many other songs that changed my life... I love you John." Prine released his highest-charting album ever in 2018, The Tree of Forgiveness, which peaked at No. 5. - Billboard,...... 
In other Grammys news, Aerosmith re-teamed with rap act Run-D.M.C. for a rendition of their 1986 remake of "Walk This Way." Rev. Run of Run-D.M.C. busted through a fake brick wall to join Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry on the first true rap-rock hit, trading verses with Tyler as Perry ripped off solos on a white custom electic guitar. As the performance wound down a member of Run-DMC's crew held up a No. 24 Los Angeles Lakers jersey in honor of late hometown basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who was among eight people killed in a tragic helicopter accident earlier in the day. The night before, Aerosmith was honored at a MusiCares Person of the Year gala, which raised over $6 million for musicians and other industry professionals in medical, emotional and financial need. Aerosmith was honored with performances from a range of artists including Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Foo Fighters, John Mayer and John Legend. Earlier in Grammy Week, co-founding Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer said he was "disappointed" after a Massachusetts Superior Court judge dismissed his legal bid to rejoin the group for their Grammy Awards performance. Kramer, who suffered an ankle injury in 2019 which caused him to miss most of Aerosmith's recent Las Vegas residency, sued the band and argued breach of contract. The 69-year-old says the band told he he was required to re-audition for his place, and apparently failed to prove he could perform "at an appropriate level." Celebrity gossip website TMZ.com captured footage of Kramer being turned away from Aerosmith's rehearsals for the show by security guards. "I'm sorry, we're just asking you not to come into the property right now," one security guard told him. "We've been hired by the other four members of the band to ask that you don't come in today." When he was asked if that was alright, Kramer responded: "Well, you're just doing your job," then thanked the guards and walked away. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine after the judge's decision, Kramer said: "The truth speaks for itself. Ever since I injured my foot last August and went through many hours of physical therapy to heal, not once did the band in its entirety offer to rehearse with me. That is a fact." - Billboard/New Musical Express, 1/26/20...... In more Grammy news, Willie Nelson was paid a pre-Grammy salute on Jan. 25 at The Troubadour in Los Angeles by the Americana Music Association's 7th annual pre-Grammy concert. Although Nelson, 86, was not present for the tribute at the Troubadour, his songs were showcased by several artists he has influenced, including John Prine, Shooter Jennings, Joe Henry, Amos Lee and others. On Grammy night, Nelson was named winner of a Best Country Solo Performance Grammy for his 2019 single, "Ride Me Back Home," beating out the likes of Blake Shelton and Tanya Tucker. - Billboard, 1/26/20...... What would have been the 75th birthday of late '70s reggae legend Bob Marley was celebrated during a pre-Grammys brunch on Jan. 24 in Los Angeles, about two weeks before his Feb. 6 birthdate. The event was attended by his children, including Cedella Marley, Julian Marley and Rohan Marley, and several of his grandchildren. Cedella Marley, a three-time Grammy winner, said her father, who died in 1981, taught his children important lessons about perseverance. "Daddy was a fitness guru... and there were times when we would do these relay races and a lot of parents just want their children to win, win, win. No, we had to really win," she said. "And he was not the one that was just going to let you win just because, and I think that's an important lesson. Nothing is handed to you, you have to go out there (and work hard)." - AP, 1/25/20...... 
Former founding Pink Floyd member Roger Waters announced on Jan. 23 that he'll kick off a "This Is Not a Drill" North American tour this summer, playing in the round for the first time ever. Waters is promising the tour, which launches on July 8 in Pittsburgh, will be an entirely new show that pulls from his 50 years of experience in rock music. Other cities on the 31-date jaunt include Detroit, Philadelphia, Toronto, Boston, New York, Miami, Denver, Las Vegas, Vancouver and more, before wrapping on Oct. 3 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The tour marks Waters' return to the U.S. following his extraordinary performances at the 2016 Desert Trip music festival and his worldwide "Us + Them Tour" in 2017 and 2018. Waters announced the tour on his Facebook page on Jan. 23, posting a video of his previous shows and footage of him in the rehearsal studio with his band. "As the clock ticks faster and faster and faster down to extinction, it seemed like a good thing to make a fuss about it, so that's why I'm going on the road," he says in the clip. - Billboard/NME, 1/23/20...... Jeff Lynne's ELO announced on Jan. 24 they'll launch a 15-date tour of the UK and Europe this fall. Supporting their 2019 release From Out of Nowhere, the tour is set to kick off Sept. 19 in Oslo, Norway, also visiting Stockholm (9/21), Herning, Denmark (9/23), Hamburg (9/26), Berlin (9/27), Cologne (9/29) and Munich (9/30). October shows include Amsterdam (10/2), London (10/5, 6), Birmingham (10/11), Manchester (10/16), Belfast (10/18), Dublin (10/19) and Glasgow (10/21). "The audiences in the UK and Europe were so good," frontman Jeff Lynne said in a statement. "We're looking forward to bringing a new show and some musical surprises this fall. I can't wait." - New Musical Express, 1/24/20...... Neil Young was granted official U.S. citizenship on Jan. 23 at Tom Bradley Hall at the L.A. Convention Center. Young, 74, previously announced he had decided to apply for dual U.S./Canadian citizenship so he can vote in the 2020 presidential election, presumably for the opponent of the target of his many criticisms, U.S. Pres. Donald Trump. Young was cheered and congratulated by fans as he walked by alongside his wife Daryl Hannah and waved his paperwork and a small American flag. In an update on his NeilYoung.com website, Young posted "I'm Happy to Report I'm In!!" as he saluted next to a voter registration table that reads, "Democrats register to vote here." - Billboard, 1/23/20...... Brian Eno and his brother Roger Eno have announced they will release a joint album together entitled Mixing Colours. It will be the ambient music pioneer's first studio effort since 2017's Reflection. Eno says the latest album with his brother, who has also developed a career in the same genre, has been in the works since 2005. The album is due March 20 via Deutsche Grammophon, and the first single, "Celeste," has already been shared. In December, Eno released a satirical new track, "Everything's on the Up With the Tories," in the U.K. prior to the general election which was won by the Conservative party. All proceeds made from the two-minute, sing-song track went towards aiding the homeless, according to Eno. - New Musical Express, 1/26/20...... 
James Taylor announced on Jan. 23 that he'll release his first new album in five years, American Standard, on Feb. 28 via Fantasy Records. Taylor's 19th studio LP, American Standard features reimagined versions of such timeless 20th century songs as "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top" from the musical "Oklahoma!," Bing Crosby's "Pennies From Heaven," Audrey Hepburn's "Moon River," and many more. "I've always had songs I grew up with that I remember really well, that were part of the family record collection -- and I had a sense of how to approach, so it was a natural to put American Standard together," Taylor said in a press release. "I know most of these songs from the original cast recordings of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, including My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, Carousel, Showboat and others.... we were interested in doing something new, and in bringing something new to it, we've reinterpreted the songs, that's what makes it worth doing." Taylor also announced he'll mount a 28-city tour with opener Jackson Browne behind the new album beginning on May 15 in New Orleans, also hitting such markets as Houston (5/16), Portland (5/25), San Francisco (5/27), Anaheim (5/28), San Diego (5/29), Chicago (6/10), Detroit (6/13), Boston (6/21), Louisville (6/26), Atlanta (6/29), Nashville (6/3) and Holmdel, N.J. (7/7) before wrapping on July 10 in Camden, N.J. - Billboard, 1/23/20...... Multiple songs by Rush have dominated Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart for the week ending Jan. 25 following the death of Rush drummer Neil Peart on Jan. 7 after a battle with glioblastoma. Rush's 1981 track "Tom Sawyer" leads the list at No. 3 with 4,000 digital downloads, followed by "Limelight" at No. 10 (1.6 million streams, 2,000 sold), "The Spirit of Radio" at No. 13 (1.3 million streams, 2,000 sold), and "Subdivisions" at No. 24 (1.1 million streams, 1,000 sold). In all, Rush's song catalog drew 34.2 million on-demand streams, a jump of 622%, and moved 42,000 album units, up 701%, in the tracking week. - Billboard, 1/22/20...... Former Happy Days star Henry Winkler has denied he and Tom Hanks are still feuding over Winkler's firing from the movie Turner & Hooch. Winkler was dismissed as the director of the 1989 Disney dog film, with rumours swirling for years that he and Hanks had clashed on set. This made for an awkward moment during the Jan. 19 SAG Awards as a camera cut to Winkler when a clip from Turner & Hooch was shown during a career spanning montage celebrating Hanks receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Denying they are at odds, Henry told TMZ: "I don't have a feud with Tom Hanks." Winkler, 74, also said that "sure," he would want to work with Hanks again, despite the fact that teaming up on Turner & Hooch did not work out for him. Winkler said that he and Hanks had in fact been friends for "years" and that he had also enjoyed working with the two-time Oscar-winner's wife, Rita Wilson. - WENN/Canoe.com, 1/22/20...... 
Mick Jagger is set to act in his first significant film part since 2001's The Man From Elysian Fields when he appears in the forthcoming movie The Burnt Orange Heresy. In the movie, the Rolling Stones frontman plays shady art dealer Joseph Cassidy who tries to persuade an art critic (played by Claes Bang) to steal a painting from a reclusive artist Jerome Debney (Donald Sutherland). According to a synopsis, "Soon, James' greed and ambition get the better of him, and he finds himself caught in a web of his own making." A clip from the movie, which hits U.S. theaters on Mar. 6 (no U.K. release date has been set), can be viewed on YouTube. - NME, 1/25/20...... Longtime PBS NewsHour anchorman Jim Lehrer reportedly died "peacefully in his sleep at home" on Jan. 23 at age 85. Mr. Lehrer anchored NewsHour, the flagship newscast on public television in the United States, for 36 years until his retirement in 2011. Mr. Lehrer was also noted for hosting several U.S. presidential debates, once stating he always tried to keep the focus on the candidates and not on himself. "I'm heartbroken at the loss of someone who was central to my professional life, a mentor to me and someone whose friendship I've cherished for decades," said Judy Woodruff, who replaced Mr. Lehrer at the NewsHour anchor desk. "I've looked up to him as the standard for fair, probing and thoughtful journalism and I know countless others who feel the same way," - CNN.com, 1/23/20.
Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer filed a lawsuit against his bandmates on Jan. 17, charging they violated his contract by not allowing him to perform with the band on the upcoming 2020 Grammy Awards on Jan. 26. Kramer, who says he's fully recovered from several injuries he suffered in the spring of 2019, says the band unfairly blocked his return for the Grammys performance. Aerosmith responded to the suit in a statement devoid of animosity: "Joey Kramer is our brother; his wellbeing is of paramount importance to us. However he has not been emotionally and physically able to perform with the band, by his own admission, for the last 6 months. We have missed him and have encouraged him to rejoin us to play many times but apparently he has not felt ready to do so." The statement goes on to say Kramer "has now waited until the last moment to accept our invitation, when we unfortunately have no time for necessary rehearsals during Grammys week" and the band would "be doing a disservice to him, to ourselves and to our fans to have him play without adequate time to prepare and rehearse." Kramer says that Aerosmith, which is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy as well as being named MusiCares Person of the Year in another Grammy week event, is depriving him "of the opportunity to be recognized along with my peers for our collective lifetime contributions to the music industry... Neither the MusiCares' Person of the Year Award nor the Grammys' Lifetime Achievement honors can ever be repeated." - Billboard, 1/22/20...... 
In an interview with the ABC's Good Morning America on Jan. 21, Ozzy Osbourne revealed that his been struggling with a form of Parkinson's disease called PRKN 2 after he suffered a fall in February 2019. "It's been terribly challenging for us," Ozzy told GMA, which posted the interview on their Twitter feed. Osbourne continued: "I did my last show New Year's Eve at The Forum. Then I had a bad fall. I had to have surgery on my neck, which screwed all my nerves. A year ago next month I was in a shocking state. I'm on a host of medication, mainly from surgery. I've got numbness down this arm from surgery, my legs feel like they're going cold, I don't know if that's from the Parkinson's." Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne, also present for the interview, stressed Ozzy's diagnosis "is not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination" and that the couple "will travel to a doctor in Switzerland in April in a bid to secure further treatment for the condition." Ozzy added how he's determined to hit the road again in October for a planned UK tour, and that 2019 was the "longest, most painful and miserable" year of his life. The following day, Sharon thanked fans for their "outpouring of love" after Ozzy's revelation on her daytime show The Talk. "...Just to have all this outpouring of positive reaction from everyone that watches the show, and our friends, it's heartwarming. And I know that Ozzy will be just over the moon. He will be taken aback." Ozzy will release his latest solo LP, Ordinary Man, on Feb. 21. - New Musical Express, 1/21/20...... The estate of Michael Jackson renewed its partnership with music rights management company BMI on Jan. 21, in an agreement that dates back 41 years. BMI announced it will continue licensing the King of Pop's songwriting catalog for public performance, renewing a pact first signed in 1979 and last refreshed in 2014. According to BMI, 17 of Jackson's songs have exceeded over one million plays on radio, with some exceeding five million spins. "The influence of Michael Jackson's revolutionary music is undeniable," said BMI president/CEO Mike O'Neill "We are extremely pleased that his estate continues to entrust BMI to represent his extraordinary catalog." - Billboard, 1/21/20...... Hall and Oates announced a massive 32-date 2020 North American tour on Jan. 21 that will see the popular rock/R&B duo visit cities across the entire US, from Hawaii to New York. With openers Squeeze and KT Tunstall, Hall and Oates will launch the trek with a two-night stand at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Conn. on May 15 and 16 and continue through Los Angeles (5/29), Denver (6/14), Austin (6/19), Toronto (7/10), Cleveland (7/14), Atlanta (8/13), Tampa (8/15) and more. The tour is currently scheduled to close out on Sept. 2 at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford, N.H. "I'm really looking forward to a big time 2020 tour!" said John Oates in a release. "Having KT Tunstall and Squeeze on the bill with us is just gonna make for an amazing night of music. Can't wait to see you all on the road." Warm ups before the tour begins in earnest in May will include shows at Giant Center in Hersey, Penn., on Feb. 26; Madison Square Garden in NYC on Feb. 28; and two shows in Hawaii on March 27 and 29. - Billboard, 1/21/2020...... 
AC/DC are reportedly planning to make a live comeback in 2020 with former frontman Brian Johnson handling vocal duties for the legendary Australian hard rockers. Australian radio personality Eddie McGuire, on his "Triple M Melbourne" show, says Johnson will return to the group after hearing loss forced him to leave the band in 2016, and that the band is planning a new album "in February/March this year... and [will be] touring Australia in October/November 2020." "And after a lot of work and a lot of technical research, they have been able to get a hearing aid for Brian Johnson, who will be out front," McGuire added. He also raised the possibility of former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd, who left the band in 2015 after being convicted of drug possession and threatening to kill a former employee, returning to the band "after the issues that he's had in recent times. Rumors of a full AC/DC reunion date back to 2018, when there were reports the band was working after a lot of work and a lot of technical research, they have been able to get a hearing aid for Brian Johnson, who will be out front." Rumors of a full AC/DC reunion date back to 2018, when there were reports the band was working on a new album that would feature the work of their late rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young on "every track," and Rudd and Johnson were spotted together in Vancouver in 2019, where the band has recorded all their albums over the last two decades. - New Musical Express, 1/20/20...... Family members of Prince have apparently reached settlements in their wrongful death lawsuit against a slew of defendants who they originally sued in April 2018, two years after the funk-rock icon died of died of an accidental fentanyl overdose on April 21, 2016, without leaving a will. The defendants include the Minnesota doctor who saw Prince in the weeks before his death and the Illinois hospital that treated him for an opioid overdose seven days before he died. Prince's heirs alleged the parties had the duty and opportunity to diagnose and treat Prince's addiction and prevent his death, but failed to do so. But as early as summer 2019, the family has quietly dismissed the suits. Claims against Dr. Michael Schulenberg -- a doctor who treated Prince in the weeks before his death -- were permanently dismissed in November, along with claims against Schulenberg's former employer. Both sides agreed to the dismissals. Claims against Walgreens, which filled prescriptions for Prince, and Trinity Medical Center, the Illinois hospital where Prince was treated for an opioid overdose a week before he died, were also permanently dismissed in August by agreement. Meanwhile, Prince's siblings are still waiting to learn how much his estate is worth. Court filings several months after Prince's death suggested the estate was worth around $200 million before taxes. More recent filings suggest the estate and Internal Revenue Service have not yet agreed on its value. - AP, 1/20/20...... 
Former The Police frontman Sting is adamant against being the subject of a Rocketman-like biopic treatment, according to a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Absolutely not," the 68-year-old Grammy-winner told the publication. "I'm telling my story in an artistic way." That way is Sting's musical "The Last Ship," which is currently being presented at Broadway's Ahmanson Theatre through Feb. 16, a different version from the one that ran on Broadway for four months in 2014. Sting wrote the music and lyrics and plays the foreman of a Newcastle shipyard in the show, which draws from his early years growing up in a grim, ship-building town in Northern England. "It's really the story of my town," Sting says. "I come from a little town in the Northeast of England. It was a famous shipyard town. We built the biggest vessels ever constructed on the planet, right at the end of my street. So it was a kind of epic, surreal industrial environment, which I didn't appreciate as a kid. It was a very frightening idea that I would end up in the shipyard as my ancestors had done. I'd pass thousands of men every morning, thinking, 'I don't want this.'" Other topics Sting weighed in on included the demise of the Police ("Everything we set out to do as a band we achieved 100 fold. After you've done that it becomes diminishing returns in terms of satisfaction") and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the Royal Family ("I think the press are making more of it than even the royal family are. I mean, he has every right to make his own life... It's ridiculous what they're making of it. Poor lad."). - The Hollywood Reporter, 1/20/20...... Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie announced on Jan. 21 that Blondie will embark on an "In Conversation" book tour of the U.K. in April centering around Harry's and Stein's respective books, Harry's best-selling autobiography Face It and Stein's two photo books, Negative and Point of View. The conversations will, according to a press release, be further "illuminated with seminal images of the band and New York City from Debbie's autobiography and Chris Stein's two books, as well as film clips, fan art, book readings and audience Q&As." "I've always loved the way Chris tells stories," Harry said in the statement. "I think you will too." The tour will begin on Apr. 22 in Glasgow, then visit Birminham on Apr. 24, Manchester on Apr. 26 and London on May 28. - NME, 1/21/20...... Bruce Springsteen surprised fans on Jan. 19 with three separate performances at the Light Of Day Parkinson's disease charity at the historic Stone Pony venue in Asbury, N.J. The Boss first took the stage during a set by Jesse Malin as part of the Light of Day week of fundraising shows for contributions to two of Malin's songs, then later joined Willie Nile to play "One Guitar" before joining Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers for a full ten-song set. The crowd was also treated to versions of his own classics, "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "Atlantic City" and "The Promised Land." Springsteen made a similar surprise appearance at the event in 2015. - NME, 1/20/20...... 
Britain's Royal Mint announced on Jan. 20 that they will release a new Queen 5 coin beginning on Jan. 24, the first in a series of "Music Legends" collection by the mint. The coin commemorates all four members of the band through the portrayal of each member's instrument, including Freddie Mercury's Bechstein grand piano which he played on the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody." Queen's logo is placed at the center of the design and is underscored by Mercury's signature mic stick. In a statement when the coins were first announced in May 2019, Queen guitarist Brian May said, "This is a big 'Who could have imagined it?' moment for us. When we began as Queen, even the first rung of the ladder to recognition seemed remote and unreachable. To have our band recognised and our music celebrated in this way is very touching -- a real honour." The commemorative coins are priced at £13 for an uncirculated coin right up to £2,100 for a gold proof coin, and can be viewed and purchased at the RoyalMint.com website. Queen recently announced plans to perform at a benefit concert for Australian bushfire relief at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Feb. 16. - New Musical Express, 1/20/20...... A longtime friend of Rush says some of the rumors surrounding Rush drummer Neil Peart's final days are inaccurate. Donna Halper, the woman credited with discovering Rush while working at an Ohio radio station back in 1974, says rumors currently circulating on social media that the musician was in a wheelchair and unable to speak in the months prior to his death after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, are "inaccurate." "The vast majority are inaccurate," Halper says. "As for me, I choose to remember Neil as he was, and I want to respect his family's privacy during this difficult time." Also in her Twitter feed, Halper said: "Normally, I would remain silent and let people say what they want to say, but this is different. My friendship with Rush is something I take very seriously, and I will defend the truth as much as I can. It's the least I can do. But it ended the way he wanted, surrounded by his family & best friends. (By the way, he was able to speak, almost till the very end, I am told.) Anyway, I'm just sorry there is no cure for the kind of cancer he had. May he rest in peace." - NME, 1/19/20...... Parlophone Records has shared a video for another previously unreleased David Bowie track, "I Can't Read '97," on YouTube. The track is one of six on the new Record Store Day Bowie EP Is It Any Wonder? The original version of "I Can't Read" appeared on the self-titled debut album of Bowie's short-lived supergroup Tin Machine in 1989. Bowie re-recorded the track during the mixing stage of his 1997 LP Earthling, but it was cut from the album at the last minute to be replaced by "The Last Thing You Should Do." - NME, 1/17/2020...... 
In an interview with the UK's Mail on Sunday, former Rod Stewart girlfriend Britt Ekland claimed Rod was tight with his money and made her pay rent to him during their two-year relationship. Ekland, 77, who dated Stewart from 1975 until 1977, also made the sensational claim that the 75-year-old "Maggie Mae" singer also used to like wearing her satin knickers. "People thought he bought me Chanel suits but I bought copies of Chanels with my own money," said Ekland, adding scathingly that Rod gave her "nothing." Ekland said that Stewart, who was famously once branded as "tight as two coats of paint" by his former Faces bandmate and current Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, added she "had to pay $100 a month board and lodgings when I was living with him... I would go shopping with him and watch him buy clothes from Yves Saint Laurent but nothing for me." Britt went on to claim Rod used to borrow her underwear: "He did used to like to wear my underwear though," she said. "He would wear these baggy satin trousers and needed little satin pants. Rod would wear my knickers. He liked them." In addition to her courtship with Stewart, the Swedish born Ekland is known for being a Bond girl, starring as Mary Goodnight in the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun alongside Roger Moore. In an odd twist, Ekland briefly dated actor George Hamilton before her relationship with Rod, and Hamilton's wife, Alana Hamilton, would later leave him for Rod -- when the singer was dating Britt. Describing the moment she found out Stewart had been unfaithful, she said: "George Hamilton told me, 'Oh how funny, [Alana] has just left me for your ex-boyfriend.'" "Suddenly a light went on and I thought 'Rod'," Ekland says. "I got in the car and drove home. I wanted to throw up. He never said sorry. Never. I wish he had. I think that would have brought it to an end. I think it is only fair to do that." - DailyMail.co.uk, 1/20/20..... Mic Gillette, first trumpet and founding member of the '70s Oakland funk outfit Tower of Power, has died at age 64 after suffering a heart attack. Gillette played a bevy of brass instruments alongside trumpet throughout his tenure in Tower of Power, including trombone, flugelhorn and tuba. Along with Tower of Power, Gillette was a member of two Bay Area funk bands, Cold Blood and the Sons of Champlin, and for a time played with Blood, Sweat and Tears. Both on his own and as a member of the Tower of Power horn section, he recorded with an array of artists including the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Santana, Sheryl Crow and Rod Stewart. After years of touring, he left Tower of Power in the mid-'80s to focus on raising his family, but continued to work as a session musician and record solo material with his own Mic Gillette Band. While Gillette rejoined Tower of Power for a reunion tour in 2009, he continued to focus on teaching music to East Bay middle and high schoolers. - The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/19/20...... David Olney, an underappreciated Nashville singer/songwriter whose work was recorded by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury and others, died of an apparent heart attack while performing onstage at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., on Jan. 18. He was 71. The Rhode Island native moved to Nashville in 1973 and later formed the rock group The X-Rays. He released the first of over two dozen solo albums, Eye of the Storm, in 1986. "Olney was in the middle of his third song when he stopped, apologized and shut his eyes," his singer/songwriter friend Amy Rigby wrote in a Facebook post. "I just want the picture to be as graceful and dignified as it was, because it at first looked like he was just taking a moment," she added. - Billboard, 1/19/2020.
Seventies acts T. Rex and the Doobie Brothers are among the six artists inducted into the 
The Steve Miller Band will be among the headliners at the second annual BeachLife Fest 2020, set for L.A. County's South Bay beach area on May 1-3. It will be SMB's only Southern California appearance of 2020. Also performing will be Counting Crows, UB40 and The Marley Brothers. This year's BeachLife will include a Yacht Rock Brunch starring Ambrosia and Friends with special guests Stephen Bishop ("On and On"), John Ford Coley ("I'd Really Love to See you Tonight"), and Elliot Lurie ("Brandy You're A Fine Girl"). Sugar Ray will also host a weekend brunch set against a backdrop of raised mimosas and palm trees and the laid-back oceanside event. Tickets can be acquired at Beachlifefestival.com. - Billboard, 1/16/20...... Meanwhile, Steve Miller is among the inductees of the 2020 Songwriters Hall of Fame, it was announced on CBS This Morning on Jan. 16. Miller was present during the announcement, saying it "feels delightful... it's really a great, great honor." Explaining why the nod was so important to him, the 76-year-old singer and guitar wizard said, "the songs are the most important part of everything. To be honored this way is unexpected." Also inducted into the SHOF were Mariah Carey, The Isely Brothers, The Eurythmics, and songwriter Rick Nowels, who has penned hits for Madonna, Dido, Adele and Lana Del Rey. - Billboard, 1/16/20...... Legendary singer José Feliciano will release his latest album, 
Steely Dan and Steve Winwood have announced a co-headlining 2020 summer tour set to kick off June 2 in Portland, Ore. Their 23-date "Earth After Hours" tour will also visit such cities as Auburn, Wash. (6/4), Los Angeles (6/8), Phoenix, Ariz. (6/11), Atlanta, Ga. (6/19), Memphis, Tenn. (6/20), Toronto, Ont. (6/23), Cincinnati, Oh. (6/28), and Holmdel, N.J. (7/10) before wrapping on July 11 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y. Steely Dan lead vocalist and keyboardist Donald Fagen has continued to perform live under the Steely Dan name since the band's co-founder, multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist, Walter Becker, died of complications from esophageal cancer in 2017. - Billboard, 1/15/20...... An ambitious 40-city Foreigner summer tour with openers Kansas has been announced to launch on July 9 in Albuquerque, N.M. Hitting such major markets as Indianapolis, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Boston, Toronto, Birmingham, Jacksonville and Nashville, the band's "Juke Box Heroes" tour will close out in September with three shows in Texas. "We can't wait to hit the road with our good friends Kansas and Europe and bring all our biggest hits to cities across the country," Foreigner founding member Mick Jones in a release. "We always have such a good time together, and combined we share some of the greatest songs in rock and roll. We are so excited to see our fans from coast to coast, and plan to make this summer our most epic tour yet!" Prior to the tour, Foreigner will launch 2020 with a three-day run at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Tennessee with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra from Jan. 16-18 before the group's residency at The Venetian in Las Vegas, which kicks off Jan. 24. Meanwhile, tourmates Kansas also plan to release their 16th studio album this summer. - Billboard, 1/13/20...... Randy Newman issued a statement on Jan. 15 saying he's been forced to cancel his upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand due to a longer-than-expected recovery period from recent surgery. Newman had been set to kick off his seven-date tour on Feb. 2 at Melbourne's Hamer Hall, then play shows in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, then head east for his first ever New Zealand trek, taking in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. "I couldn't be more sorry, I really couldn't," said Newman in a statement. "I had a hip operation, and I thought I was going to get better, but I'm not. And I'm losing feeling in three fingers on my left hand. Not that I ever had a great left hand in the first place, but it's hard to play." Newman was recently nominated for a best original song Oscar (his 13th) for "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" from Toy Story 4, and for best original score for Marriage Story. Elton John and Bernie Taupin, fresh off their Golden Globe win for best original song for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman, were also nominated for an Oscar in the best original song category. - Billboard, 1/15/20...... Meat Loaf has filed a lawsuit against a hotel at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and organizers of a horror convention held there, blaming them for negligence when he fell from a stage while answering questions from convention goers last May. Meat Loaf, whose real name is Michael Lee Aday, and his wife Deborah filed the suit on Jan. 13 in a state district court in Fort Worth, Tex., against the Hyatt Corp. and Texas Frightmare Weekend LLC. The lawsuit alleges the defendants hung curtains at the back edge of the stage at the Hyatt Regency DFW hotel that hid where the stage ended, creating a "hidden hazard." Meat Loaf, 72, incurred severe neck, collarbone and shoulder injuries that have prevented him from performing since, according to the complaint. It says he spent 42 days hospitalized after the fall and required him to undergo physical therapy. - AP, 1/14/20...... 
Legendary guitarist and longtime cannabis advocate Carlos Santana has announced he's getting into the marijuana business. On Jan. 15, Santana announced a partnership with Left Coast Ventures, a cannabis and hemp company headquartered in Santa Rosa, California. Santana will develop premium cannabis and hemp CBD brands for the company that are influenced by his Latin heritage, while "incorporating his divine philosophies" with strains and products that "promote the spiritual consciousness and wellness effects" of the drug. "Cannabis is a window or a door to different awareness of consciousness," said Santana in a statement. "It gives you the choice to perceive through a different filter of awakening and healing, the misperception of distance as an illusion, which keeps you from being centered in your essence-core. It helps you arrive at knowing, accepting and owning a quality of life that is being with joy!" Santana's pot brand is expected for a summer 2020 launch and will be available to buy in select dispensaries in California; the line will include flower and pre-rolls upon release. The hemp CBD brand, which will include topicals with formulations inspired by Santana's own family, is slated for release in the fall. - Billboard, 1/15/20...... Queen + Adam Lambert and Alice Cooper have been confirmed as headliners of a Sydney Bushfire Relief Concert at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Feb. 16. All profits and contributions will go to various wildfire relief charities that will help victims of devastating Australian bushfires that have taken dozens of lives, destroyed thousands of homes and razed more than 12 million hectares, an area roughly the size of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, combined. The massive nine-hour-plus concert will be hosted by actor and comedian Celeste Barber, who has already raised more than A$50 million ($35 million) towards bushfire relief via her own online appeal. Other headliners include Amy Shark, Baker Boy, Conrad Sewell, Daryl Braithwaite, Guy Sebastian and Icehouse. - Billboard, 1/13/20...... David Bowie is set to be honored by having a Paris street named after him, it was announced on Jan. 13. Paris mayor Jerome Coumet, a professed fan of the late rock icon, said that a new road near Austerlitz station in the southeast of the French capital would be named after Bowie. Revealing that Bowie "had a strong link with the City of Lghts," Coumet added that "the naming must be approved by the Paris council in February," something he says normally happens without a problem. Jan. 10 marked the fourth anniversary of Bowie's death, and the musician's 48-year-old son, Duncan Jones, and Bowie's wife of almost 24 years, Iman, paid tribute to him in a series of touching social media posts. Jones posted a photograph of Bowie on holiday via Twitter, captioned "Dad relaxing happily in the Australian outback," adding "Always alive when he's in here - [heart emoji]." Iman took to Instagram to pay tribute to her late husband with a picture of the two together, as well as a separate post featuring the words: "Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks." - New Musical Express, 1/13/20...... Star Wars actor Mark Hamill is praising a Flagstaff, Ariz., record store for returning a Star Wars: A New Hope soundtrack LP that had been a gift from film composer John Williams that he hadn't seen since the 1990s. The record was one of numerous Star Wars items brought in to sell by a woman after her father's death in 2018. Micheil Salmons, the store's general manager, said they eventually tried reaching out to Hamill via social media. The actor confirmed it was genuine, and the vinyl was sent back to him. Micheil Salmons, the store's general manager, said they reached out via social media to Hamill, who confirmed it was genuine, and the vinyl was sent back to him. Hamill said in a tweet that it felt "totally unexpected & positively surreal" to get back the record he hadn't seen since the early 1990s. "I happily offered to sign any (Star Wars) items they sent me," the actor wrote. Williams had written on the vinyl's sleeve: "Dear Mark Hamill, May the force always be with us." - AP, 1/14/20...... 
A posthumous release by late Irish rocker Rory Gallagher, Check Shirt Wizard - Live in '77, has been released via Chess/UMC Records. The 20-song, previously unreleased, set is culled from four shows (London, Brighton, Sheffield and Newcastle) during an early 1977 tour across the UK in support of Rory's then latest album Calling Card. Featuring live versions of tracks from that album as well as songs from Gallagher's 1975 set Against The Grain other live favorites, the new album has been mixed from the original multi track tapes from the Rory archive, which were recorded at the Rolling Stones and Jethro Tull's mobile studios and mastered at Abbey Road. Gallagher's most popular albums have always been his live ones, such as Live! In Europe, Irish Tour '74 and Stage Struck. Check Shirt Wizard - Live in '77, is available to pre-order from 
The rock world is mourning the loss of legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart, who died in California on Jan. 7 at age 67 after a battle with brain cancer. Canada's CBC first reported the news on Jan. 10, citing information from Peart's publicist, Elliott Mintz. Considered one of the best drummers in rock history with Modern Drummer listing him at No. 3 in a 2014 all-time ranking list, Peart also made his mark on the larger pop culture as seen through references in TV shows like Freaks and Geeks, Archer and Family Guy. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1952, Peart became infatuated with music at an early age and started playing the drums after his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks for his 13th birthday. After moving to the U.K. at 18 to make it as a professional musician, he returned to Canada, where in 1974 he auditioned for singer/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson to replace John Rutsey as drummer for the band Rush. Although his audition was rocky, Lee and Lifeson decided to give Peart a chance, and the new trio started playing live gigs just weeks later. Though Lee had written the lyrics on the group's first album with Rutsey, he happily ceded the role to Peart, whose songwriting focus was heavily influenced by his studies of objectivist Ayn Rand while he had lived in England. The visionary drummer's style, both manic and intricate, would also help come to define the band's virtuosic prog-rock sound. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1952, Peart became infatuated with music at an early age and started playing the drums after his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks for his 13th birthday. After moving to the U.K. at 18 to make it as a professional musician, he returned to Canada, where in 1974 he auditioned for singer/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson to replace John Rutsey as drummer for the band Rush. The trio would record five albums over the next half-decade, spanning from 1975's Fly by Night to 1978's Hemispheres, building the band's cult reputation at home and abroad. 
The most successful of these efforts was 1976's 
Parlophone Records has announced it will mark what would have been David Bowie's 73rd birthday on Jan. 8 with two posthumous projects. The first is a nine-track album due out on 2020 Record Store Day (April 18) on vinyl and CD for the first time entitled ChangesNowBowie, culled from a 1996 session with longtime bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, guitarist Reeves Gabrels and producer Mark Plati during rehearsals for a 50th birthday Madison Square Garden show. As the first taste of that project, Parlophone has released a mostly acoustic version of Bowie's beloved 1970 track 
Ozzy Osbourne shared the title track from his upcoming album 
Legendary screenwriter Buck Henry, best known for his work on the classic 1967 film The Graduate and for co-creating the '60s spy comedy series Get Smart!, died of a heart attack on Jan. 8 at Cedars-Sinai Health Center in Los Angeles. He was 89. Mr. Henry scored a pair of Oscar nominations -- one for his adapted screenplay for The Graduate and another for co-directing (with Warren Beatty) the 1978 movie 
Rod Stewart and his 39-year-old son Sean Stewart are due to appear in a Palm Beach court on Feb. 5 after the pair were involved in a New Year's Eve scuffle at the The Breakers hotel. According to court records, a security guard named Jessie Dixon told police officers that Stewart's group was at the check-in table for a private party that they weren't authorized to attend. When the group became unruly and began causing a scene, Dixon said he put his hand on the younger Stewart's chest and told him to back up and make space, which prompted Sean Stewart to shove him backwards and go "nose to nose" with him, the report said. Rod, 74, then allegedly punched Dixon in his "left rib cage area" with a closed fist. Sean told investigators he became agitated when they were not able to attend the event "due to Dixon's interaction with him and his family." After viewing security footage, police determined the Stewarts were the "primary aggressors," and Dixon signed an affidavit saying that he wanted to press charges against the pair, who were both charged with simple battery and issued notices to appear in court on Feb. 5. Meanwhile, Rod Stewart announced on Jan. 7 that he'll launch a North American summer tour with openers Cheap Trick on July 1 in Cuyahoga Falls, Oh. The 21-city tour will visit mostly mid-size markets including Clarkston, Mich. (7/25), Hershey, Pa. (8/1), Wantagh, N.Y. (8/14), Columbia, Md. (8/15), and Maryland Heights, Mo. (9/2) before wrapping Tinley Park, Il. on Sept. 5. Stewart became the oldest solo male artist to top the U.K. pop charts in December with his latest album, 
In an interview with the U.K.'s Daily Mail on Jan. 3, Meat Loaf claimed that 17-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg has been "brainwashed" into believing in climate change. Meat Loaf said "I feel for Greta" and that she's been "brainwashed into thinking that there is climate change and there isn't... She hasn't done anything wrong but she's been forced into thinking that what she is saying is true." Thunberg, who has become an icon in the global environmental movement and inspired a number of protests and strikes, responded to the musician's words on Twitter on Jan. 7: "It's not about Meatloaf. It's not about me. It's not about what some people call me. It's not about left or right," she tweeted. "It's all about scientific facts. And that we're not aware of the situation. Unless we start to focus everything on this, our targets will soon be out of reach." Meat Loaf's interview also included his thoughts on his self-proclaimed "sex god" status, back surgeries, and his favorite TV shows. In 2019, he made headlines when he fell offstage during a speaking event and broke his collarbone. He has previously claimed that his health issues that resulted in him collapsing on stage at another event mean that he may never sing again. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 1/7/20...... Speaking of Greta Thunberg, Patti Smith penned an environmentally conscious poem for the young activist's 17th birthday on Jan. 3. Smith posted Thunberg's photo on her Instagram page and broke up the poem's stanzas within the caption: "This is/ Greta Thunberg, turning/ seventeen today, asking/ for no accolade, no gifts,/ save we not be neutral./ The Earth knows its kind,/ just as all deities, just as/ animals and the healing/ spring. Happy birthday/ to Greta, who stood today,/ as every Friday, refusing/ to be neutral," the punk poetess posted. The last three lines refer to Thunberg's weekly routine of heading to the front of the Swedish parliament building on Fridays with her "Skolstrejk fr klimatet" sign (which translates to "School strike for the climate") to demand action toward the global climate change crisis. - Billboard, 1/3/20...... The surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band announced on Jan. 3 that they'll be celebrating the ABB 50th anniversary with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 10. The concert will reunite drummer Jaimoe Johanson, guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, bassist Oteil Burbridge and percussionist Marc Quinones under the name The Brothers. Also appearing will be "special guest" Chuck Leavell on keyboards. It will be the first performance of the ABB since Gregg Allman died following a battle with liver cancer in 2017 and the suicide of ABB drummer Butch Trucks. Founding guitarist Dickey Betts will not be at the show, having had a falling out with the band years ago. - Billboard, 1/3/20...... R&B/Funk legends The Isley Brothers have been confirmed as headliners for the 2020 Playboy Jazz Festival, set for L.A.'s Holywood Bowl on June 6 and 7. In addition to brothers Ronald and Ernie Isley, the lineup will include St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science and Musiq Soulchild among several other artists, according to organizers the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. The full talent lineup for the 42nd annual PJF will be announced on Feb. 18, along with the complete schedule for the Hollywood Bowl's summer 2020 season. Actor/comedian George Lopez will mark his eighth anniversary as festival host. - Billboard, 1/7/20...... 
Elton John and his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin were honored with a best original song Golden Globe award during the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 5, 2020 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The duo took BOS trophies home for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again," the new song they contributed to Rocketman, the kaleidoscopic musical biopic about Sir Elton's life. Incredibly, John noted it was the first award he and Taupin have won as a duo. "It's the first time I won an award with him. Ever," John said while accepting the award. "We never won a Grammy, we never did anything together except for this and I'm so happy, thank you very much." Taupin then added: "[The song] deals with our relationship... and a 52-year-old marriage... which doesn't happen very much in this town," he said, visibly moved. Elton, a five-time Grammy winner, did not win any of them with Taupin, who has been nominated twice, but has no wins. Since 6 of the last 10 Globe winners for best original song went on to win the Oscar, as did 7 of the last 10 Globe winners for best original score, John and Taupin could be considered as front-runners for the coveted Oscar. If John and Taupin's win for BOS was a mild surprise (facing competition from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift), Taron Egerton's win as Best Actor for a Musical or Comedy for portraying John in Rocketman was a flat-out shock, beating out heavily favored comeback king Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name. His award was well-earned however, as Egerton supplied his own vocals in the biopic, while 2019 Golden Globe winner Rami Malek did a lip-synced performance of Freddie Mercury in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody. Egerton thanked Elton for allowing him the honor of portraying him onscreen. "To Elton John -- thank you for the music, for living a life less ordinary and for being my friend," he said. - Billboard, 1/5/20...... In an apparent attempt to avoid new EU copyright laws which went into effect on Jan. 1, a collection of about 130 rare and unpublished Rolling Stones recordings were published to the YouTube account 69RSTRAX shortly before the new year, then mysteriously removed within hours. Offering no immediate clue as to the identity of the publisher, a YouTube-mandated email address for 69RSTRAX directs business enquiries to ABKCO, a music publishing company that owns the rights to a substantial number of early Rolling Stones recordings. According to Variety, the publishing of the tracks might have been an attempt to avoid EU copyright laws and keep them out of the public domain on the 50th anniversary of their creation. Sound recordings are protected for 50 years after they are published, and can be extended to 70 years as long as they are "lawfully communicated to the public" within the first 50 years. Previously, some publishers, faced with similar issues, have released collections of recordings, such as the Beatles' 2013 album Bootleg Recordings 1963, and a limited-run Bob Dylan compilation album literally published as The Copyright Extension Collection, Volume 1. The Stones tracks included several near-complete 1969 concerts and multiple alternate studio versions of songs from the albums Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers, many of which have been available for decades on bootlegs -- along with many that have not. Variety note that while the brief release of the Stones recordings could extend their copyright, they are not sure whether a post on YouTube constitutes a publication as defined by European Union law. The 20-year extension to the 50-year copyright period was passed in Sept. 2011 by the Council of the European Union, which at the time claimed that the change was designed to benefit artists and songwriters. However, a number of artists decried the council's decision, noting that the extension would instead benefit record companies -- who in most cases retained ownership of sound recordings in the original record contracts -- rather than the musicians who wrote and performed them. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 1/3/20...... 
As anticipated, a California appeals court on Jan. 3 restored two lawsuits accusing Michael Jackson of child sexual abuse, after the state's statute of limitations on the crime was extended. The lawsuits were filed by Wade Robson in 2013 and James Safechuck in 2014, but were dismissed on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired for both men. California law required such cases to be filed before the accuser's 26th birthday. However, in October 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new state law giving those who claim they were sexually abused as children until age 40 to file suit, effective Jan 1. In November, three judges from the 2nd District Court of Appeal said in a tentative ruling that in light of the new law, Safechuck and Robson's suits ought to be reconsidered. Now, the California judges have made that ruling official. While the new ruling does not address the truth of their allegations, it does give them the green light to proceed with their lawsuits against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, who they argue are liable for the alleged abuse. Howard Weitzman, attorney for the Estate of Michael Jackson, said that "The Court of Appeal specifically did not address the truth of these false allegations, and we are confident that both lawsuits will be dismissed and that Michael Jackson will be vindicated once again." - Billboard, 1/3/20...... The Grateful Dead spin-off band Dead & Company paid tribute to the band's legacy with a career-spanning New Year's Eve show at Chase Center in San Francisco on Dec. 31. Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton, the most iconic Deadhead, appeared as a seven-foot tall Father Time in a wizard-white beard, a resplendent crown of roses, to ring in the new year and decade. Dead & Co. band member John Mayer took photos as if he were a fan, and not the band's lead guitarist, tasked with the impossible role of reanimating the spirit of Jerry Garcia. Then a few thousand rainbow-colored balloons descended from the rafters to the floral strains of the GD classic "Sugar Magnolia." Three hours, three sets and 24 songs strong, it was encored with a rendition of the band's biggest pop hit, "Touch of Grey." It was the final show of a four-night "Fun Run" mini-tour by the band that included two stellar performances the previous week at The Forum in Los Angeles. In line with the band's storied tradition, the trip remained "long and strange." - Billboard, 1/2/2020.
The Washington Post has published an article by writer Nancy French who says she was given David Lee Roth's old phone number when she and her new husband moved from Tennessee to New York City in the 1980s, and began to receive sultry phone calls from several women asking to "speak to David." French said she would hand the phone to her husband who insisted it was a wrong number and hang up, but the calls caused her to question her marriage. "Maybe our relationship was all a ruse. I'd heard stories of people getting married only to realize their spouse had a double life," she wrote. Thankfully, Roth's agent finally called and cleared the confusion. "Apparently, [Roth] had changed his number right before we moved to Manhattan but still gave out his old number to women he met but wanted to let down easily," French wrote. "Later that year, he appeared on MTV with Van Halen. When rumors of them getting back together started flying, our phone rang with congratulations and invitations to exclusive parties." - Billboard, 12/30/19...... Vinyl album releases by Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, the Beatles, Queen and classic rock artists on a Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack have helped the vinyl LP format to top sales of 1 million in a single week for the first time in the Nielsen Music era. In the week ending Dec. 26, 2019, a whopping 1.243 million vinyl albums were sold. Vinyl albums were once the dominant format for album purchases in the U.S., up until the early 1980s. After that, cassettes took hold until the early 1990s, when the CD format flourished and become the leading format for album purchases. Of the top 10 single biggest weeks for the vinyl album format in the Nielsen Music era, five occurred in 2019, three in 2018, one in 2017 and one in 2015. It's expected that 2019 will mark yet another big year for vinyl, once the 2019 Nielsen Music tracking year closes on Jan. 2, 2020. - Billboard, 12/30/19...... In a new interview with the U.K. music mag Mojo, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood recalled how his fellow Stones guitarist Keith Richards branded him a "weakling" after he attempted to ditch alcohol and drugs for the first time. Wood, who has been sober for a decade, said RIchards was dismissive of his efforts when he first attempted to get clean in 2005. "I do remember going on stage clean for the first time, it was at this club in Canada for the start of a tour (in August 2005)," Wood noted. "I was like this, ([terrified], and Mick [Jagger] whispered, 'It's alright, you can do it, don't worry.' But Wood said Richards was "trying to make out I was the weakling" by going "rehab's for quitters!" "But it takes a lot of strength to do this if indeed I'm gonna be able to do it at all because there's no guarantees," Wood said. Wood added that during a 2009 intervention when he began to relapse, "they took my counsellor away and got me so annoyed... You sometimes wonder if they want you to go out and drink again... It's big money for them." "So I left rehab and did it for myself I felt I knew what to do... Fellowship. I did 90 meetings in 90 days and I did the same again. Didn't need the rehab place -- I did it through the meetings." - New Musical Express, 1/31/19...... Officials in the U.K. apologized on Dec. 28 for mistakenly publishing the home addresses of more than 1,000 people who received special honors including pop singers Elton John and Olivia Newton-John, along with several Oscar-winning film directors, senior politicians and diplomats, popular athletes and people in sensitive defense roles. The addresses were published online for about an hour on the evening of Dec. 27 when the Cabinet Office posted the recipients of New Year's Honors, including knighthoods. "The information was removed as soon as possible," the Cabinet Office said in a statement. "We apologize to all those affected and are looking into how this happened." Officials said the individuals will be contacted about the error. The Information Commissioner's Office said it was investigating "in response to reports of a data breach involving the Cabinet Office and the New Year's Honors list." It can impose fines for privacy violations. Britain's Cabinet Office publishes a list of the people receiving honors for merit, service or bravery twice a year: shortly before New Year's Eve and on the Saturday in June when Queen Elizabeth II's birthday is officially observed. - AP, 12/28/19...... Actress Teri Garr, star of such blockbuster films as Young Frankenstein and Tootsie, is reportedly "fine" after being hospitalized on Dec. 30 for a "medical emergency." Garr, 75, was taken to a local medical center by ambulance, but her rep says the situation was much more minor than first implied, and said Garr had actually been suffering from dehydration, which led to confusion. "Teri is fine. She had some confusion which it turns out was caused by dehydration. To be cautious they are keeping her overnight and she'll be home tomorrow," the rep said. Garr has suffered health issues for years and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999. She also suffered a brain aneurysm in late 2006, but recovered and returned to acting until she retired in 2011. - WENN/Canoe.com, 12/31/19...... 
British songwriter and comedian Neil Innes, who collaborated with the Monty Python comedy troupe and co-founded the Beatles parody band The Rutles, died unexpectedly of natural causes on Dec. 29. He was 75. Innes wrote several original songs for Monty Python's sketch-comedy TV show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, as well as 1975's classic movie, 
West Coast jazz trumpeter Jack Sheldon, best known for playing "The Shadow of Your Smile" in the 1965 Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton drama The Sandpiper, serving as Merv Griffin's TV talk show sidekick, and voicing characters on the children's series Schoolhouse Rock!, died on Dec. 27, according to this longtime manager, Dianne Jimenez. He was 88. Mr. Sheldon's haunting version of "The Shadow of Your Smile," written by Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster, won the Grammy Award for song of the year and the Academy Award for best original song. Mr. Sheldon was also seen or heard in several other films including The Long Goodbye (1973), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Save the Tiger (1973), Mommie Dearest (1981), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Arachnophobia (1990) and For the Boys (1991). On Merv Griffin's long-running TV talk show that began in 1962, the fun-loving Mr. Sheldon enjoyed rich comic banter with the host, a big band singer himself. Griffin's favorite song was "The Shadow of Your Smile," and Mr. Sheldon performed it at Griffin's funeral in 2007. The Jacksonville, Fla., native also provided the voice for the Conjunction Conductor and performed as proposed legislation in the memorable piece "I'm Just a Bill" on the Saturday morning kids educational series Schoolhouse Rock!, which premiered on ABC in 1973. He parodied "I'm Just a Bill" as an "Amendment to Be" on a 1996 episode of The Simpsons and reprised his roles as the bill and the conductor on episodes of Family Guy in 2000 and 2001. In the late 1950s, Mr. Sheldon toured with orchestras led by Stan Kenton and Benny Goodman and backed such famous singers as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. An inventive player, he also headed his own 17-piece orchestra. His TV credits include The Cara Williams Show, Run Buddy Run and The Girl With Something Extra. He was the subject of a 2008 documentary, Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon, in which he detailed his battle with alcohol and substance abuse. He then made a resounding recovery from a stroke suffered in 2011 that robbed him of the use of his right arm. "I like the music to swing," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1987, "and I like to make people feel it, feel happy and sad, everything. If the music makes me smile and happy, then maybe the people will feel it, too." - The Hollywood Reporter, 12/31/19.