ABBA took to Instagram on Mar. 31 to announce a new career-spanning album box set of all nine of their studio albums. "Excited to finally annouce that you can now pre-order the 9LP Picture Disc bundle (limited edition) plus the very special 10 LP box set and 10 CD box set of ABBA's entire catalogue," the Swedish pop stars posted. The ABBA Album Box Set, set for a May 27 release, will also include ABBA Tracks, a special record featuring non-album singles such as "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" and "Fernando," and be available in both 10 vinyl LP or 10 CD formats. The albums in the 10 LP box set will be pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl, while the 10 CD collection will be accompanied by a 40-page booklet featuring album information and classic photographs from throughout the group's career. They're are also set to release ABBA's Studio Album Picture Discs, a strictly limited pair of LP bundles, on June 10. The 8 LP collection features the the group's original run of albums (from 1973-1981), while the 9 LP bundle includes 2021's Voyage in the collection. A virtual ABBA residency in London, "ABBA Voyage," is set to kick off at the ABBA Arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on May 27. - New Musical Express, 3/31/22...... 
The Rolling Stones will be the subject of an exclusive 4-part documentary film series produced by Mercury Studios for BBC Two, according to a press release on Mar. 31. My Life as a Rolling Stone will be part of a season of programming across television, radio and digital platforms celebrating the legendary English rock band's 60th anniversary. The in-depth series will explore the whirlwind career that followed the Stones' first official gig on July 12, 1962 at London's Marquee Club, taking a look at each member individually through their musical lens. Each hour-long installment will present an intimate portrait of each member -- Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts, by "delving deep into their personalities, passions and memories." Because he sadly passed away in Aug. 2021, Watts' story will be told through his fellow band members, musical peers and admirers, on top of archive interviews of the drummer. Special guests such as Steven Tyler, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Slash and Chrissie Hynde will be featured in the film series, sharing how they have been inspired by the band. My Life as a Rolling Stone will be directed by award-winning filmmakers Oliver Murray and Clare Tavernor, and will broadcast on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this summer and distributed internationally by Mercury Studios. The BBC will also produce a world-exclusive two-hour audio documentary for BBC Radio 2 titled Rolling with The Stones, which will tell the band's story through unheard interviews, as well as rarely heard music, performances and interviews. The Stones will kick off a 14-show 60th anniversary tour across Europe in Madrid, Spain on June 1. - Billboard, 3/31/22...... In other Stone-related news, Mick Jagger has written his first-ever TV theme for the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses. Jagger, 78, says he decided to write the theme after reading the Mick Herron book on which it's based. "It's a quite popular series of books, so I knew what it was about," Jagger told Variety. "I knew the vibe really well, so as soon as [composer Daniel Pemberton] sent the track to me, I just dashed off a few pages of notes of what I thought it was about. It came very, very quickly, which is always a good sign." Pemberton says he "played him the track on guitar.... I'm not even a good guitarist... That was very weird, playing guitar for Mick Jagger on the Zoom line." Speaking about their collaboration, Jagger added: "I just recorded it on my iPhone and sent it to him, and he loved it. And then we had to do a bit of crafting, trying to get a chorus, calling it 'Strange Game' and trying to get the verses from the point of view of the main character." Slow Horses is set to debut on Apple TV+ later in April. - Music-News.com, 3/29/22...... On Mar. 28 Roxy Music announced details of a fall 2022 UK and North American tour, the first time that band members Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson have been together on stage since the "For Your Pleasure" tour in 2011. Kicking off on Sept. 7 in Toronto, the North American leg also includes stops in Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Austin, Tx., Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. On Oct. 10, Roxy begins a three-stop tour in Glasgow, followed by an Oct. 12 show in Manchester and the tour wrapper in London's O2 on Oct. 14. A trailer for the tour and a the full list of dates can be viewed on YouTube. The new tour dates will mark the 50th anniversary of the band's debut album, which they will be celebrating throughout 2022 with a vinyl reissue series which will see the band reissuing all eight of their studio albums. - NME, 3/28/22...... 
The renowned Madame Tussauds London museum has unveiled a new waxwork statue of David Bowie based on his iconic Ziggy Stardust alter-ego as part of its "Music Festival" experience. "There's a Starman waiting in...our new music zone! @DavidBowieReal lands tomorrow," the museum Tweeted on Mar. 31. Created in partnership with Bowie's estate, the figure was made using information from the star's 1983 sitting, and marks the second Bowie waxwork to feature at the museum. "David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust transcends generations and music genres, making him the ultimate headliner to launch our new Music Festival zone," says Tussauds general manager Tim Waters. "We were honoured to work with his estate in what would have been his 75th year and play our small part in keeping his inimitable legacy alive for generations to come." He also described the museum's newly-updated festival area. "With our new Music Festival experience, we've captured the magic of live music, with legends you literally could not see perform together anywhere else, in a way that only Madame Tussauds London could. There's also the added bonus of no muddy fields or main-stage clashes to contend with." Madame Tussauds announced the new Bowie figure in Jan. 2022, on what would have been his 75th birthday. It also released a series of images that were shot during Bowie's 1983 sitting with its model artists. - NME, 3/31/22...... The Sex Pistols have announced a new collection of 20 of the seminal punk band's biggest hits from their 1976-78 heyday. The Original Recordings hits stores on May 27 and will be released in conjunction with the new Danny Boyle-directed new Sex Pistols series for Disney+, Pistol. Created and written by Craig Pearce, the 6-episode series is based on Steve Jones' memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol and boasts a cast of newcomers, including Toby Wallace as Jones, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Anson Boon as John Lydon and Christian Lees as Glen Matlock. The Original Recordings will be available on CD, LP and cassette formats. John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon has distanced himself from the new collection, posting on his Facebook page that "John Lydon has not approved this compilation and does not endorse or support it... He has not approved the artwork or tracklisting. He and his team were not involved in producing this compilation and consider it substandard compared to previous Universal releases since 2012." Lydon previously similarly refused to endorse Pistol, and was taken to court by his former bandmates Jones and Cook in 2021 after the singer refused to license the Sex Pistols' music for inclusion in the show. Pistol will be released on Disney+ on May 30. - NME, 3/30/22...... Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, the ex-wife of Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson, is claiming in a new lawsuit that her ex sold his publishing rights to Universal Music Publishing Group in Dec. 2021 for more than $50 million, and says she's owed millions from the deal. Wilson-Rutherford contends Brian had paid her an $11 million cut from the Dec. 15 deal with UMPG but still owed $6.7 million more under their 1981 divorce settlement, which entitled her to half the royalties from 170 of his songs. Wilson's UMPG deal, which was not reported at the time, included a $31.6 million payment for his songwriting interest and $19.2 million more for his termination interest, according to documents disclosed in Marilyn's lawsuit. In a new court filing on Mar. 25, attorneys for Wilson confirmed that a UMPG deal took place, but did not offer additional specifics. Wilson was married to Marilyn from 1964 to 1978, during which time he co-wrote many of the Beach Boys' biggest hits. Under the 1981 divorce agreement, he agreed to give her half of his songwriting royalties for the songs he wrote during their marriage. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles court in February and moved to federal court in late March, Marilyn claimed that her ex-husband had violated that agreement -- both by underpaying her cut from the UMPG deal and failing to be transparent about what she's owed. - Billboard, 3/30/22...... Paul McCartney has shared a letter he recently wrote to the CEO of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson, urging him to end the surcharge on plant-based milks before he's set to retire on Apr. 4. "My friends at PETA are campaigning for this," McCartney wrote in the letter. "I sincerely hope that for the future of the planet and animal welfare you are able to implement this policy." According to PETA, producing cow's milk generates around three times more greenhouse-gas emissions, and uses nine times more land than vegan options do. It takes 628 liters of water to make 1 liter of cow's milk, while oat or soy milk requires 90% less water. Starbucks currently charges 70 cents for oat, almond, soy and coconut milk added to its drinks, and McCartney and PETA believe that is unfair. McCartney previously teamed up with PETA for his 78th birthday in 2020, when a video for the organization titled "Glass Walls" showed how horrific animal slaughterhouse conditions are, and most recently urged leaders at COP26 -- the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference -- to address that animal agriculture has a detrimental effect on the environment. Meanwhile, McCartney has called recently deceased Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins a "true rock and roll hero. Posting on Twitter on Mar. 30, Sir Paul said that "Taylor's sudden death came as a shock to me and the people who knew and loved him. Not only was he a GREAT drummer but his personality was big and shiny and will be sorely missed by all who were lucky to live and work alongside him." McCartney, who sat in on drums with the Foo Fighters on the band's 2017 Concrete & Gold LP song "Sunday Rain" (which featured a rare vocal from Hawkins), included a picture of himself with Hawkins in his lengthy post, which referenced the sessions for "Sunday Rain." - Billboard, 3/30/22...... In other Beatles-related news, the eldest son of John Lennon has announced his seventh studio album, JUDE. Julian Lennon, 58, says the title is a nod to the Fab Four classic "Hey Jude," which as legend has it Paul penned for 5-year-old Julian following his parents' separation in 1968. Julian has hailed the collection -- which he co-produced with Justin Clayton -- as a "coming-of-age" tale of his life. "Many of these songs have been in the works for several years, so it almost feels like a coming-of-age album. With great respect for the overwhelming significance of the song written for me, the title JUDE conveys the very real journey of my life that these tracks represent," says Julian. Ahead of the LP's release later this year, the Grammy-nominated artist will release the singles "Every Little Moment" and "Freedom" on Apr. 8. - Music-News.com, 3/31/22...... 
Don McLean has released an intimate recorded performance of his song "Vincent" shot at the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit in Los Angeles on Feb. 28 and made it available on the Immersive Van Gogh website. McLean played the guitar-plucked rendition of "Vincent" in honor of the 50th anniversary of his classic 1971 album American Pie (which includes "Vincent" as well as the title track), the song's namesake Vincent Van Gogh, and the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). The new recording coincides both with Van Gogh's birthday (born 1853) and World Bipolar Day. Viewers are encouraged by the exhibitors to make donations to the ISBD in its honor. Just after his performance, McLean said he was inspired to write "Vincent" after reading a book on the painter more than 50 years ago. "But after I read that, I just looked at the Starry Night painting and I thought, "I'm just going to let the painting tell me what to write." For the songwriter, he felt writing about Van Gogh was an "accessible subject." "Growing up, everyone hears the story of Van Gogh," McLean said. "It was almost like a child's story, a fable, and thus, a perfect subject for a biographical folk song," he added. Many speculate that Van Gogh -- who struggled with mental illness throughout his life and made many of his greatest works while in an asylum -- had bipolar disorder. Left untreated and misunderstood, Van Gogh took his own life in 1890. In "Vincent," McLean treats the artist's suffering with great tenderness, singing, "When no hope was left inside on that starry, starry night/ You took your life as lovers often do/ But I could have told you, Vincent / This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you." "I've always tried to write something no one else has written before," McLean continued. "There was only one other song about a painter I knew about, one about a master painter from the 1950s, and I wanted to write something very different." - Billboard, 3/30/22...... The Who performed the Pete Townshend solo track "Let My Love Open the Door" for the first time in 33 years during a special charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Mar. 25 to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust. The Who delivered a stripped-back acoustic set that included a sprinkling of deep cuts and rarities from across the band's catalog, also performing the solo Townshend song "Let My Love..." from his 1980 album Empty Glass. "Well, this next song is definitely not a Who hit... It's a Pete hit," Townshend told the crowd to introduce his own composition, which hadn't been played by the group since 1989. He went on to talk about how the track featuring in Netflix's new Ryan Reynolds-starring sci-fi film, The Adam Project, led to it landing at No. 3 on the official Shazam Chart. Fan-shot footage of the performance can be seen on YouTube. Who frontman Roger Daltrey is a patron of the TCT charity and launched the series back in 2000. - NME, 3/29/22...... On Mar. 29 Elton John revealed the remaining dates for his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road The Final Tour," adding 11 new concerts to his previously-announced final tour of the United States and Canada. The new stops include East Rutherford, NJ; Foxborough, MA; Toronto, ON; Vancouver, BC; and Phoenix, AZ; a third show added at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA; and, due to "overwhelming demand, visits to Santa Clara, CA; San Diego, CA; and Tacoma, WA. Elton's final wave goodbye to North America will begin July 15 in Philadelphia, PA, and his last date will take place Nov. 20 at Dodger Stadium, for what will be his 2,000th concert in the United States. John will return to Australia and New Zealand in early 2023, when he'll kick off a run Down Under, make-ups for when he was forced to scrap shows in early 2020 due to illness. Elton's 5-year tour, which was forced to pause due to the pandemic and, at times, poor health, formally wraps in Stockholm, Sweden on July 8, 2023. A complete list of dates can be found on www.EltonJohn.com/Tours. - Billboard, 3/29/22...... 
Speaking of farewell tours, Peter Frampton has announced three shows in the UK this November as part of his final live shows. "Great news!! I am continuing my PF Finale Tour this November in the UK," Frampton said in a Twitter post. "My band and I have been chomping at the bit to play and can't wait to keep our promise to play for you again. Thanks for your patience," he added. Billed as Frampton's last ever live shows after over five decades of touring, the "Finale Tour" will also embark on a mammoth run of over 50 shows across the US this summer. The British shows will be in Stoke (Nov. 5), Glasgow (Nov. 6) and London's Royal Albert Hall (Nov. 8). "Select dates" on the tour will see Frampton joined by Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening, as well as his son Julian Frampton. It's unclear whether that will include the British shows. In Apr. 2021, the rocker released Frampton Forgets the Words, consisting of covers of what he called "ten of my favourite pieces of music." - NME, 3/28/22...... Patti Smith has announced she plans to release one final album in a new interview with the UK paper The Guardian. "I do have plans and I've written a lot of songs. I'd like to do one more album and my record company, Columbia, has very generously left the door open," said Smith, 75. Her last album was 2012's Banga, and since 1980 she has been semi-retired, spending 17 years focusing on raising her children -- Jackson, 40, and Jesse, 35 -- with her late husband Fred "Sonic" Smith. The punk poetess was also suffering from a "bronchial condition," which meant performing was bad for her health, and she wished to spend more time with her family. - Music-News.com, 4/1/22...... Prince's 1985 live concert film Prince and the Revolution: Live s set to be remastered for a new reissue. Prince's gig at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. on Mar. 30, 1985, which was part of his "Purple Rain Tour," was broadcast live internationally via satellite at the time, and was later released as Prince and The Revolution: Live. The Prince estate has now partnered with Legacy Recordings to release a remastered reissue of the film, which will be available on vinyl (3xLP), CD (2xCD), Blu-ray and streaming services for the first time. Pre-order is available now from here. Set to be released on June 3, Prince and The Revolution: Live has been remixed from the original 2" multitrack master reels, while the film has been digitally enhanced onto Blu-ray video with selectable stereo, 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos sound. - NME, 3/30/22...... Phil Collins' daughter Lily Collins has paid a loving tribute to her dad after Genesis performed their final-ever gig together in a sold-out show at London's O2 on Mar. 26. Lily, who is known for starring in Nefflix's Emily In Paris, was present at the concert and thanked her father in an Instagram post for "being such an inspiration." "Tonite marks the end of an era," she captioned a carousel of pictures and a video clip of the gig in the post. "To have witnessed this last show was truly the memory of a lifetime and an event I shall hold in my heart forever. Endlessly grateful doesn't begin to do it justice. So much love was left on that O2 stage and an even bigger amount shared between an audience who didn't want it to end. Thank you @genesis_band for the memories, thank you dad for being such an inspiration and thank you @nic_collins for making me the proudest sister there is. 50 years of songs later and still generations more to celebrate you long after this tour has finished...," she added. During the show, Phil Collins announced to the crowd that it would be the band's last show, looking pensive before joking: "After tonight we've all gotta get real jobs." - NME, 3/28/22...... 
It has been revealed that two co-founders of the acclaimed New Wave band Talking Heads, Chris Fràntz and Tina Weymouth, were involved in a serious car crash in early March after being hit by a drunk driver. Weymouth, who is married to Fràntz, sustained three fractured ribs and a fractured sternum in the incident, Fràntz revealed in a Facebook post on Mar. 27. "I was driving on the Post Road, U.S. Route 1 with Tina Weymouth when we were struck head on by a drunk driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road," Fràntz recounted. "Incredibly, we walked away from the collision. Tina had a cat scan and suffered three fractured ribs and a fractured sternum. She's been in a lot of pain but she will get better with time." He concluded the post by giving thanks "to our guardian angels and to the Ford Motor Company for building a car that protected us from getting killed." Fràntz and Weymouth co-founded Talking Heads in 1975 alongside David Byrne, and later formed the band Tom Tom Club in 1980. The couple, along with the rest of Talking Heads, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. - NME, 3/27/22...... A "trailblazing" British DJ known as Superfly has died at the age of 69. Superfly, whose real name is Mike Bernard, passed away on Mar. 15 of as yet undisclosed causes, according to the BBC News. Bernard became the first Black presenter on BBC Radio Bristol back in 1978, and spent time teaching Math and English to youngsters at The Inkworks in the St Pauls suburb of the city. In the 1980s, he formed a friendship with Soul II Soul founder Jazzie B who would borrow records from Bernard's extensive vinyl collection (via Bristol Live). Superfly also crossed paths with the likes of Marvin Gaye, Muhammad Ali and Eddie Murphy over the course of his career. Bernard -- who moved to the UK from Jamaica when he was eight -- was known for supporting up-and-coming talent, and has been described by his son Narada as a "trailblazer" who "broke down boundaries." He became a director at Bristol radio station Kute FM in the mid-'90s and later received a degree in law as a mature student. He performed as a regular DJ at the Moonlighting club in London where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ali, Murphy and Mary J. Blige. On Mar. 25, around 200 people gathered in Bristol in celebration of Superfly's life. - NME, 3/29/22.
Stevie Nicks has shared an emotional tribute on Instagram over the untimely death of her friend and fellow musician, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died on March 25 as his band was on tour in Columbia. "I just have to say, thank goodness for the photo booth in the Foo Fighters studio. Because of these pictures my friendship with Taylor will always be at my fingertips," Nicks wrote, referring to a pair of black-and-white personal snapshots of a grinning Hawkins and herself. "He always came to my shows," Nicks added. "He and his best friend Dave [Grohl] even let me be a Foo Fighter for a little while. We recorded a kick ass version of 'Gold Dust Woman' (live) and at the end of the song I yelled out 'Best Gold Dust Woman ever~'. And I meant it." Hawkins, 50, was found dead in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia, with the band just hours away from playing a concert in the city. A toxicology test has preliminarily found he had 10 types of substances in his body, including heroin, and once source reports he suffered a "cardiovascular collapse," but no official cause of death has yet been determined. - Billboard, 3/26/22...... 
Genesis frontman/drummer and '80s solo superstar Phil Collins has bid farewell to performing live as Genesis played the last night of its "The Last Domino!" farewell tour at London's The O2 on Mar. 22. Collins, 71, has been unable to play drums and has been forced to sing the majority of the band's set from a chair, due to ongoing health issues. He quipped about needing to "get a real job now" as his son Nic Collins, 20, replaced his dad on the drums for the jaunt. Collins' 33-year-old actress daughter, Lily Collins, paid tribute to Genesis on Instagram, and thanked her father and his bandmates for a "lifetime of memories", while she gushed about being "the proudest sister" to Nic. Alongside a series of backstage photos from the concert, the Emily in Paris star wrote: "Tonite marks the end of an era. To have witnessed this last show was truly the memory of a lifetime and an event I shall hold in my heart forever. Endlessly grateful doesn't begin to do it justice. So much love was left on that O2 stage and an even bigger amount shared between an audience who didn't want it to end. Thank you @genesis_band for the memories, thank you dad for being such an inspiration and thank you @nic_collins for making me the proudest sister there is. 50 years of songs later and still generations more to celebrate you long after this tour has finished... (sic)." Phil Collins previously admitted he can "barely" hold a drum stick in his hand in a devastating health update. He has been in poor health for some time since he injured a vertebrae in his upper neck while performing in 2009. Two years later, he stepped back from performing due to crippling nerve damage, which rendered him unable to play the drums, before returning in 2015. Promoting the reunion shows, he said: "I'm kind of physically challenged a bit which is very frustrating because I'd love to be playing up there with my son." - Music-News.com, 3/27/22...... Former The Police frontman Sting released a new version of his 1985 song "Russians" on Mar. 25, with net profits to benefit Ukraine relief. Sting's new guitar and cello version of "Russians" will benefit www.helpukraine.center, which Sting explained in an Instagram post is "a volunteer storage center established by Ukrainian business owners where humanitarian and medical aid can be sent from all over the world -- with funds being processed through the German charity foundation, Ernst Prost, People for Peace -- Peace for People." Earlier in March, Sting took to Instagram to perform the song, saying, "I've only rarely sung this song in the many years since it was written, because I never thought it would be relevant again. But, in the light of one man's bloody and woefully misguided decision to invade a peaceful, unthreatening neighbor, the song is, once again, a plea for our common humanity. For the brave Ukrainians fighting against this brutal tyranny and also the many Russians who are protesting this outrage despite the threat of arrest and imprisonment -- We, all of us, love our children. Stop the war." The song, which was critical of the Cold War then occurring between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and features the line "I hope the Russians love their children too," has seen an increase of 4,183% in lyric views and usages in the U.S. and 3,744% globally, according to Billboard's LyricFind charts. - Billboard, 3/25/22...... In related news, Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor gave permission for a special screening of the band's 2008 Kharkiv, Ukraine concert with former frontman Paul Rodgers to raise funds for Ukraine relief. Queen + Paul Rodgers played Ukraine during their "Rock the Cosmos Tour" in 2008, with a live album and companion DVD of the show being released the following year. Queen and Paul Rodgers Live in Ukraine was made available to watch in the UK on the band's official YouTube channel on Mar. 19, and fans who streamed the two hour set were asked to donate to UNHCR -- The UN Refugee Agency. "Today, with millions of Ukrainian refugees in need of urgent humanitarian relief from a different affliction, Queen is returning to its historic moment with a YouTube special screening aimed at drawing donations for UNHCR's relief efforts," May and Taylor posted on their respective Instagram accounts. - NME, 3/21/22...... 
Aerosmith has said in a new interview with USA Today that their co-founding drummer Joey Kramer has "regrettably made the decision to sit out the band's live shows in 2022 so he can focus his full attention on his family during these uncertain times." They added that Kramer and Aerosmith "look forward to his future performances with Aerosmith" after the band returns from a two-year hiatus this June for their latest Las Vegas residency. The band said that John Douglas will sit in for Kramer on drums for the upcoming shows. Kramer previously took a break from his drumming role in Apr. 2019 to recover from a shoulder injury. He joined the band onstage to accept the MusiCares Person of the Year award before the 2020 Grammys, though he did not play with the quintet due to the legal battle that found him suing his bandmates for making him audition to rejoin the band, which excluded him from playing with them at MusiCares, as well as the following night's Grammys and at their recent Las Vegas residency gigs. After the injury sidelined him, Kramer claimed that despite his recovery, and the audition to get his gig back, the other members of the band have not allowed him back into the fold. Aerosmith responded that Kramer "is our brother... 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." Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler announced on his Instagram account on Mar. 23 that the band's 2022 "Deuces Are Wild" Vegas residency is set for MGM's Dolby Live Theatre between June 17 and Dec. 11, 2022. "GET READY TO WALK THIS WAY TO VEGAS... @Aerosmith RETURNS TO SIN CITY!!! BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!!! DOLBY LIVE AT PARK MGM THIS JUNE THROUGH DECEMBER!!! TICKETS ON SALE THURSDAY MARCH 31ST AT 10 AM PT #DEUCESAREWILD @parkmgm pic.twitter.com/mS86MixMCv," he posted. It will be Aerosmith's first-ever performances at the venue, and their first live shows in over two years. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 3/25/22...... It appears even an internationally famous country music superstar like Willie Nelson can have trouble voting absentee under the state of Texas's new election laws. Nelson's wife Annie D'Angelo-Nelson has told the Austin American-Statesman newspaper that she and Wille made two attempts before they finally succeeded in obtaining absentee ballots from Travis County, Tex. elections officials. Annie said their first applications were rejected because of inconsistent identification information provided on the forms, and that she and Willie are concerned for those wanting absentee ballots but aren't as tech-savvy as her and her musician-husband. Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation's first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules that are part of a broad campaign by Republicans to reshape American elections, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. At least 17 other U.S. states in the coming months will cast ballots under tougher election laws, in part driven by former Pres. Donald Trump's baseless and persistent claims of rampant fraud in the 2020 election. The rejected ballots in Texas alone far exceeds the hundreds of even possible voter fraud cases the AP has previously identified in six battleground states that Trump disputed. Meanwhile, Willie Nelson has announced the return of his Outlaw Music Festival Tour, with special guests to appear at each date. The annual festival begins in June in St. Louis, finishing up in Philadelphia in September. Willie Nelson and Family will headline each date while being joined by a host of musicians along the way, including Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, ZZ Top, Chris Stapleton, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Gov't Mule, Allison Russell, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Charley Crockett, The Avett Brothers, Brittney Spencer, Brothers Osborne, Larkin Poe, Zach Bryan, The War and Treaty and Billy Strings. The complete line-up can be seen on Strings' Twitter page. - AP/NME, 3/25/22...... 
Sir Elton John celebrated his 75th birthday on Mar. 25 by releasing Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits on several streaming platforms, including Amazon Music, Apple Music and TIDAL. As the Rocket Man rings in his milestone birthday, fans all over the world are now able to listen to 48 Elton tracks -- including classics such as "I'm Still Standing," "Tiny Dancer," "Saturday Night's Alright" and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" -- mixed in Dolby Atmos for a "truly spatial listening experience." "I'm not usually one to look back or get nostalgic, but 75 is such a milestone birthday," Elton said in a statement. "I'll definitely find time today to take stock and thank my lucky stars for my wonderful family, friends and career. I feel unbelievably lucky that at 75 I still love what i do so much -- I'm still so energised about music and excited I get to play, listen and talk about this every single day. Being back on the road is a blast and the thrill of playing live is as amazing as it was 50 years ago. I have so much to pass on to the new generation of fans and artists alike, and I'm determined to keep giving back to the industry that has given me so much," he added. Diamonds -- comprising Elton's hits spanning 1970 to 2016 -- was originally physically released on CD and vinyl in 2017 to commemorate five decades of the "Crocodile Rock" hitmaker's work with longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. The triple-platinum collection became one of the biggest selling albums in the UK, a full five years after it first reached the top 5 of the country's Official Album Charts, spending 227 consecutive weeks in the Top 75 of the chart, and 124 in the Top 20. John has also charted 58 songs in the U.S. on Billboard Hot 100's top 40, making him the top male solo artist on the music industry magazine's list of the 125 top artists of all time. Meanwhile, Elton dedicated a performance of his 1974 hit "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins on Mar. 26 during a concert in Des Moines, Iowa. Speaking about Hawkins' passing, John said: "I was so shocked because he played on my Lockdown Sessions; he was one of the nicest people you could have ever met, and one of the greatest drummers, and a true musician who loved all sorts of music, and loved life... His music will live on, but I can tell you he was a great, great guy," John said before dedicating a performance of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" in memory of Hawkins. The performance has been shared on YouTube. - Music-News.com/NME, 3/25/22...... On Mar. 25 The Rolling Stones announced a new live album that captures two classic '70s shows. The 23-track Live at the El Mocambo features the legendary band's two famed secret gigs at the 300-capacity El Mocambo venue in Toronto, Canada in 1977. It arrives in multiple formats on May 13, marking the first-ever release of the concerts. It also boasts the full set from the band's March 5 show plus three bonus tracks from their appearance the previous evening (March 4), newly mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Only four of the featured performances made it onto Love You Live, the group's 1977 concert album that largely consisted of recordings from their tours in 1975 and 1976. The full set has never been heard before. To celebrate the new release, the band released two of the cuts -- "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" and "Rip This Joint," on major streaming services including Spotify.com on Mar. 25. Curiously, the Stones performed their pair of El Mocambo gigs under the name The Cockroaches, appearing on the bill alongside the Canadian rock band April Wine. The Stones are set to kick off a 60th anniversary UK and European tour this summer. - NME, 3/25/22...... A new Prince "immersive exhibit" will open on Chicago's Michigan Ave. on June 9 and run through Oct. 9. Prince: The Immersive Experience will give Prince fans a chance to experience the musical storm the musician created in his lifetime in a brand-new way, boasting 10 multidimensional spaces that will bring the late musical innovator's creative evolution, activism and sound to life. "You're going to be able to step in a Purple Rain album cover," Kerry Black of Superfly says. "Where you can get your photo up on the motorcycle. But we're also doing a full buildout of the entire street scene, right? So there's going to be the First Avenue club and a bunch of the stores." Other setups include Prince's Studio A at Paisley Park and a dance party where guests can groove to an audiovisual experience designed by the "Kiss" singer's lighting designer Roy Bennett and powered by Bose speakers. Historic wardrobe pieces, photography, instruments and more will also be available to peruse, courtesy of the Prince Estate. Tickets for Prince: The Interactive Experience go on sale 10. a.m. CT on Mar. 31 at PrinceTheExperience.com. - Billboard, 3/24/22...... On Apr. 6, three days after the 2022 Grammy Awards telecast in Las Vegas, the Grammy's Recording Academy will tape a salute to the songs of Paul Simon at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Brandi Carlile, who was in the first batch of performers announced for the Apr.3 Grammy telecast, will also perform on the Simon tribute concert special, which is titled "Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon." Other performers set for the show all current or past Grammy nominees include Dave Matthews, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Shaggy and Take 6. Simon is scheduled to make a "special appearance" at the tribute, which joins a long line of Grammy salutes for the likes of The Beatles, The Bee Gees and Whitney Houston. The show will air on CBS later in 2022. - Billboard, 3/24/22...... 
Singers Mavis Staples and Ronnie Milsap and keyboardist Booker T. Jones lead a versatile group of musicians named to the 2022 class of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, the hall announced during a ceremony on Mar. 22. Established in 2012, the hall includes members of the music world with ties to Memphis, including Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Tina Turner and Three 6 Mafia. Staples was part of The Staples Singers at Stax Records in Memphis with hits like "I'll Take You There," and she later embarked on a successful solo career. Milsap was a keyboard session musician in Memphis before becoming a country music star. Before going solo, Booker T. Jones was the front man for the influential, bi-racial group Booker T. and the MGs, which also served as the house band for Stax and had several instrumental hits, including "Green Onions." Both the Staples Singers and Booker T. and the MGs were inducted into the Hall in 2012 along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin' Wolf, Al Green and ZZ Top. Elvis Presley's former wife, Priscilla Presley, also was named to the hall this year for her work at Graceland. So were J.M. Van Eaton, a drummer for Lewis and others, and rockabilly musician Billy Lee Riley. The hall is administered by the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum, which was developed by the Smithsonian Institution. This year's inductees will be ushered into the hall in the fall, with a date and location to be announced later. - AP, 3/24/22...... A "lost" concert film by director/cinematographer Ed Lachman of Lou Reed and John Cale's Songs For Drella album has been found and is coming to streaming. Lachman believed that the original negatives were long lost until he unearthed them while researching Todd Haynes' 2021 documentary film about Reed and Cale's former band, The Velvet Underground. Songs For Drella will be available to stream exclusively on MUBI in the UK and Ireland from Apr. 17. The concert film shows Reed and Cale perform songs from their song cycle tribute album to their former manager, Andy Warhol, who died three years prior to the joint album's release in 1990. "Drella'" was a nickname used for legendary pop artist Warhol by Reed and Cale (the name is a synthesis of Dracula and Cinderella). The VU were managed by Warhol from 1966-67 and also served as the in-house band for his art collective known as "the Factory" as well as Warhol's traveling multimedia show, the "Exploding Plastic Inevitable." Cale recently announced that he'll be heading to the UK this summer for his first full run of tour dates in almost a decade. - NME, 3/24/22...... Former Grateful Dead member Phil Lesh's band Phil Lesh & Friends will be among the headliners at a new cross-genre music festival in Chicago this summer. The Sacred Rose festival take place at the Windy City's SeatGeek Stadium with headlining performances from Lesh's band, Khruangbin, The War On Drugs, Black Pumas and more. The new event comes from the organizers behind North Coast Music Festival, Summer Camp Music Festival and Suwannee Hulaween and will take place over the course of three days (Aug. 26-28). Umphrey's McGee, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Goose, STS9, Greensky Bluegrass, Kamasi Washington, Animal Collective and more will also perform at the debut festival. Special guest Margo Price will also be the festival's first artist at large and will perform with various acts all weekend long. The full lineup can be seen on the Sacred Rose Festival's Twitter page. - Billboard, 3/22/22...... Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of late Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen and leader of his own band Mammoth WVH, has reacted to the news that Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott had decided not to name their new son "Wolf." "Thank f--k," Van Halen tweeted on Mar. 22 about the news that once again makes him the most prominent Lupus in Hollywood. More than a month after the makeup mogul announced that her second child with the rapper Scott was named Wolf Webster, Jenner revealed that they've "had a change of heart" because "we just really didn't feel like it was him." - Billboard, 3/22/22...... 
Joni Mitchell has weighed in on the title of contemporary pop singer Harry Styles' new album. Mitchell responded to Styles' announcement that his new LP will be titled "Harry's House," simply writing on Twitter, "Love the title." The iconic singer-songwriter's reaction makes sense for two reasons: Mitchell, an eight-time Grammy winner, also has a song called "Harry's House" off her 1975 album The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Harry's House also evokes Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1970 hit, "Our House," which was written by Graham Nash about the house he shared with Mitchell in Los Angeles' famed Laurel Canyon from 1968 to 1970. Styles himself is a longtime fan of Mitchell's. In Feb. 2020, he covered her classic, "Big Yellow Taxi," on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. He also said in a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone that his Fine Line LP track, "Canyon Moon," came from "falling into a pretty big Joni hole." Styles' follow-up album, Harry's House, will arrive on May 20. - Billboard, 3/23/22...... Madeleine Albright, the first female US secretary of state and who helped steer Western foreign policy in the aftermath of the Cold War, died of cancer on Mar. 23. She was 84 years old. Ms. Albright was a central figure in Pres. Bill Clinton's administration, first serving as US ambassador to the United Nations before becoming the nation's top diplomat in his second term. She championed the expansion of NATO, pushed for the alliance to intervene in the Balkans to stop genocide and ethnic cleansing, sought to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons, and championed human rights and democracy across the globe. Pres. Joe Biden paid tribute to Ms. Albright in a lengthy statement, calling her a "force" and saying working with her during the 1990s while he was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was among the highlights of his Senate career. "When I think of Madeleine, I will always remember her fervent faith that 'America is the indispensable nation,'" said Pres. Biden, who ordered flags at the White House and all federal buildings to be flown at half-staff in Ms. Albright's honor. Born Marie Jana Korbelova, the daughter of a Czechoslovakian diplomat, in Prague in 1937, Ms. Albright escaped then-Czechoslovakia with her family 10 days after the Nazi invasion. Her experience growing up in communist Yugoslavia and then fleeing to the US made her a lifelong opponent of totalitarianism and fascism. She attended Columbia University for her master's degree and Ph.D., which she completed in 1976 before launching on a decades-long career in government service and foreign affairs work under different Democratic politicians and causes. In a New York Times op-ed written in February just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ms. Albright argued that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would be making "a historic error" and warned of devastating costs to his country. "Instead of paving Russia's path to greatness, invading Ukraine would ensure Mr. Putin's infamy by leaving his country diplomatically isolated, economically crippled and strategically vulnerable in the face of a stronger, more united Western alliance," she wrote. - CNN, 3/23/22.
New Wave icons Devo have announced they'll be donating their licensing revenue from their song catalog for the entire month of April to organizations that are helping support the Ukrainian people and refugees. "Vladimir Putin's rape of a sovereign nation, Ukraine, whose citizens are committed to democratic rule of law should not and cannot stand in the 21st Century," said Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale in a statement. "To help the victims of Putin's unprovoked war, Devo will be donating these revenues from the licenses of our song catalog throughout the month of April. We invite our rights holder partners in masters and publishing matters to join us in doing the same. Further we encourage all successful recording artists to do something similar to help make this gesture reach critical mass," they added. Devo says the money will be earmarked for Music Saves UA and World Central Kitchen. The Ohio-based band has made it a priority to support political and social causes in addition to "using music and performance art as commentary on conformity, emotional repression and dehumanization." - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/21/22...... Meanwhile, a forthcoming fundraising event dubbed "Concert For Ukraine" has been set for Mar. 29 at the UK's Resorts World Arena Birmingham and boast headliners including Nile Rodgers and Chic, Ed Sheeran, Snow Patrol, Manic Street Preachers, Tom Odell, Becky Hill and The Kingdom Choir. The two-hour benefit show will air live on ITV in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee's (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. "In times of trouble you can always count on great musical artists to come together to help bring focus on what really matters," Nile Rodgers said in a statement. "At this moment in time nothing is more important than showing the people affected by conflict in Ukraine that we stand with them, that we are family," he added. - New Musical Express, 3/22/22...... In more Ukraine-related news, a Ukranian punk band called Beton has reworked The Clash's famous "London Calling," turning it into "Kyiv Calling" to highlight events in Ukraine and raise funds for a resistance movement. The three-piece band -- comprising an architect, orthopedist and businessman -- recorded their reworded take on the 1979 Clash hit in a studio in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The trio hopes it helps raise funds for the non-military operations of the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement (FURM), a publicist for FURM said, adding the Clash have agreed to donate all royalties raised to the movement's communications department. "Kyiv calling to the whole world ...Come out of neutrality, you boys and girls," read the new lyrics. The song is accompanied by a video of the band with clips of battle damage in Ukraine. Beton lead singer Andriy Zholob says the Clash "were one of our inspirations we fell in love with punk rock and music in general, there is no snobbery or pretentiousness to the music, they had something to say and voiced their opinions against human anger." - Reuters, 3/19/22...... 
The producers of the new Michael Jackson-themed Broadway musical "MJ" announced on Mar. 22 they're going to be moonwalking the splashy show across the U.S. next year beginning with a residency at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre on July 15, 2023. "We are thrilled by the Broadway response to 'MJ,' and that we are already deep in preparations to bring this exhilarating show to Chicago and across the United States," "MJ" producer Lia Vollack in a statement. "Chicago is a premier theater and music destination, and we are excited to be able to begin this journey in one of the Nederlander Organization's most beautiful venues," she added. Hitting 16 additional cities over two years after the Chicago shows, the musical will also include a previously revealed two-week engagement at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Sept. 26-Oct. 8, 2023. "MJ" features most of the late King of Pop's and the Jackson 5's big hits, including 
Paul Simon is reportedly shopping his master recording royalties from his work with Simon & Garfunkel, one year after selling his song catalog to Sony Music Publishing. The master royalties include the five Simon & Garfunkel studio albums that the duo recorded for Columbia/Sony starting in 1964 through the landmark duo's 1970 Grammy-winning LP 
The inductees into the Blues Hall of Fame of 2022 were announced on Mar. 17 and include Johnnie Taylor, whose biggest hit, the trendy 
Heart has long cited Led Zeppelin as one of their strongest influences, and now Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson has revealed she once approached the English heavy metal legends to audition to be part of the band after Robert Plant announced he wouldn't be part of the band any more after the one-off Led Zepp reunion concert in London in 2007. Despite Plant not wanting to take part in a full scale reunion after that show, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones held some sessions where they jammed with potential new vocalists including Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler in 2008. Wilson recently told "Planet Rocks" that she also "threw her hat in the ring" at the time but heard nothing back. "(Led) Zeppelin always was a boy's club," Wilson said. "I know that because there was a minute when the rumour was that they were auditioning singers and I just threw my hat in the ring. I went, 'I'm here!' and it was crickets (silence). But anyway, who would want to hire somebody that could sing just like Plant? I don't think that's what they were into, you know? I don't think they want it to be a caricature of Led Zeppelin," she added. Despite that four years later, she performed "Stairway To Heaven" in front of Plant, Page and Jones and received a standing ovation from them at the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, she also shared live covers of Zeppelin's "Going To California" and "Black Dog," which were both filmed at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in New Hampshire. Wilson will release her new solo album, 
Def Leppard has announced the English hard rock quintet's 12th studio album -- and first in seven years -- will drop on May 27 ahead of its "Stadium Tour" with openers Mötley Cruë, Poison and Joan Jett. 
Warwick's interview came shortly after country superstar Dolly Parton recalled her nomination, opting out of the race to be inducted because she doesn't feel she's "earned that right," but hopes to make a rock 'n' roll album in the future. Posting on 
On Mar. 15 ZZ Top announced the release of a new live album as well as a summer North American tour -- its first since the 2021 death of co-founding bassist Dusty Hill. Raw, set to be released on July 22 via Shelter Records/BMG, is an 11-track LP recorded for the trio's 2019 Netflix documentary, That Little Ol' Band From Texas (which can be previewed on 
Meanwhile, Eddie's ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli is speaking out on the long-held belief among some fans that she broke up the original iteration of Van Halen. During a recent stop on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast, Bertinelli, 61, opened up on what life was like in the early days of the band after she married late guitar great Eddie Van Halen. The celebrity chef spoke about how there was "cocaine everywhere" after the pair married in 1981. But the Hot in Cleveland star also addressed how Van Halen fans blamed her after Sammy Hagar replaced original frontman David Lee Roth when he bolted from the band to pursue a solo career in 1985. "Well, I have been accused of that, even though Yoko (Ono) didn't break up the Beatles, and I certainly didn't break up Van Halen," Bertinelli told Lowe. But she did reveal that she didn't get along with Roth and admitted that to this day she doesn't know what led to their strained relationship. "I got along great with Al (Van Halen) and with Mike (Anthony). It was someone else... I don't know why didn't like me, but what are you going to do?" she said. "I was always nice to him. I honestly don't know." Bertinelli told Lowe that she hopes to someday get closure with Roth, who returned to Van Halen in 2007. "One day I'd like to sit down with him and go, 'Dude, what did I do? Honestly, I've always been a fan of yours. I think you're a brilliant frontman, I think you're a brilliant songwriter, I love your lyrics. Why don't you like me? What did I do?'" - NME/Canoe.com, 3/15/22...... Pop sensation Adele drew criticism from some of her most loyal fans earlier in the year when she postponed her "Weekends with Adele" Las Vegas residency at the last moment, blaming "production issues." Now Don McLean has joined the fray, accusing the "Rolling In the Deep" hitmaker of having no consideration for her fans, who forked out on tickets and booked flights and hotels to attend one of her shows only to be told by Adele in a video one day before the run was due to kick off at Caesar's Palace's Colosseum in January that the shows would be delayed. "They are all very rich and very spoiled and they don't really care about the audience. They think the audience should kiss their ass and that is the opposite to how I feel," McLean said on the Greatest Music of All Time podcast on Mar. 16. "I feel honoured to play for people. I know they are spending money and taking time out of their lives. But I come from a different time. Guys like The Beach Boys worked really hard and so does Paul McCartney," the 76-year-old "American Pie" singer added. Adele recently promised fans the delayed shows will take place before the end of 2022, and admitted it needs to happen this year because she has "plans" for next year -- possibly a new baby with her fiancée Rich Paul. - Music-News.com, 3/16/22...... A benefit show held in support of war-torn Ukraine took place in New York on Mar. 10, with Patti Smith, Gogol Bordello, The Hold Steady's Craig Finn, Suzanne Vega and more in attendance. Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz, who was born in Ukraine, co-hosted the benefit at NYC's City Winery, to raise funds for financial and humanitarian relief in the country. In total, $130,000 was raised, with proceeds going to Come Back Alive, a foundation that provides support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Care.org. Among the funds raised, there was a $50,000 donation by Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon to Doctors Without Borders. Yoko and Sean were invited but couldn't attend on the night. Videos from the benefit can be seen on Smith's 
Oscar-winning actor William Hurt, who became a top leading man in the 1980s in such films as Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Big Chill and Body Heat, died on Mar. 13 of natural causes. He was 71. "It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes," his son Will said in a statement. Hurt was nominated for four Oscars over the course of his long career, scoring two best actor nominations for Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God and a supporting actor nod for less than 10 minutes of screen time in A History of Violence. He was one of the most heralded performers of the 1980s, becoming something of a cerebral sex symbol and a reluctant, albeit bankable, movie star. Hurt later transitioned into character roles in the 1990s and successfully alternated between big screen projects and television, scoring Emmy nominations for his work as a whistleblower in Damages and his portrayal of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in Too Big to Fail. More recently, he became well known to a younger generation of movie lovers with his portrayal of the no-nonsense General Thaddeus Ross in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. He later reprised the role in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow. He also appeared in the TV mini-series version of Dune, in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Hurt was married to the actress Mary Beth Hurt from 1971 to 1982 and was married to Heidi Henderson from 1989 to 1991. - Variety, 3/13/22...... Actress Laurel Goodwin, who made her movie debut at age 19 opposite Elvis Presley in the 1962 feature Girls! Girls! Girls! and four years later played a crew member in the original, failed Star Trek pilot starring Jeffery Hunter, died Feb. 25. She was 79. Born in Wichita, Kan., and relocating to California with her family during World War II, Goodwin studied drama at San Francisco State University and was soon signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures. She debuted in Girls! Girls! Girls! as one of two potential love interests for Presley's character (the other was portrayed by Stella Stevens). The following year, Goodwin played a daughter of Jackie Gleason's railroad executive in the comedy Papa's Delicate Condition. Over the next decade, she would appear in numerous TV series, including The Virginian, Get Smart!, The Beverly Hillbillies, Mannix and The Dain Curse. She played Yeoman J.M. Colt in "The Cage," the unaired 1965 pilot for Star Trek that starred Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike. The pilot was rejected by NBC, though some scenes were recycled for a 1966 two-part episode ("The Menagerie") after William Shatner had replaced Hunter as the Enterprise captain. ("The Cage" subsequently was released in various home entertainment formats.) Goodwin, along with her husband, producer Walter Wood, produced the 1983 Burt Reynolds-Loni Anderson NASCAR comedy Stroker Ace. She is survived by her sister, Maureen Scott, who announced the death. A cause was not disclosed. - Deadline.com, 3/7/22.
The pre-1987 albums -- including 1973's Dark Side of the Moon and 1979's The Wall, along with another 10 studio albums -- will remain on streaming services in the two countries. Earlier on Mar. 1, David Gilmour posted on Twitter pleading with Russian solders to "stop killing your brothers....there will be no winners in this war" and added "[Vladimir] Putin must go." Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after the Russian President Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on Feb. 24. The Russian invasion has killed an estimated 549 citizens including 41 children, although those numbers are likely much higher. Meanwhile, Roger Waters has also condemned the invasion of Ukraine, releasing an open letter on Mar. 9 calling it "a criminal mistake" and "the act of a gangster." He added that he wished Western countries assisting Ukraine would provide help in the form of diplomacy instead of weapons. "Rest assured if all our leaders don't turn down the rhetoric and engage in diplomatic negotiations there will be precious little of Ukraine left when the fighting is over," he wrote. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 3/11/22...... In related news KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has told the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com that although he's usually against "political statements on stage," he's making an exception for the current war in Ukraine which is "just lunacy." "We're not going [to perform in Russia]... there's a bigger issue than putting on a rock concert," Simmons said, adding: "The only possible upside might be if a band gets up there and makes political statements on stage, which is usually something I'm against but this is beyond politics. This is just lunacy." Simmons continued: "I mean we were faced with the same problem with Botswana in the days of apartheid. We were offered millions of dollars, but we said, 'No, we can't go there, because if a western band goes there, you're saying it's okay for apartheid and all the racism and the lack of justice.' So we said no. There were some bands that went, and they paid the price. Their fans turned on them. The problem is if a western band plays Russia, it gives credence -- a political win for Putin's outright lies." He also urged other bands to cancel their Russian gigs and "stop drinking Russian vodka." KISS is set to kick off their summer European tour in Dortmund on June 1, with an appearance at the Download Festival scheduled on June 10. - NME, 3/10/22...... In more Ukraine-related news, 2022 Academy of Country Music awards show co-host Dolly Parton opened up the 57th show in the series in Las Vegas on Mar. 7 with a nod to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. "I don't want to be political and this is not. I'd rather pass a kidney stone than do that. I want us to send our love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine," Parton said. "Let's dedicate this whole show to them and pray for peace around this crazy world," she added. - Billboard, 3/8/22...... 
Variety.com is reporting that a planned Billy Joel biopic about the musician's early days appropriately titled Piano Man is currently in the works at Michael Jai White's Jaigantic Studios, even though the studio has yet to obtain permission to use Joel's music or likeness. Piano Man will reportedly detail early moments in Joel's career, "from being discovered by Irwin Mazur, who managed the band The Hassles that Joel joined as a teenager, to his breakout performance in 1972 that captured the attention of then CBS Records head Clive Davis." Piano Man is set to be written and directed by Adam Ripp, son of Artie Ripp who gave Joel his first record deal as a soloist and produced the singer's 1971 debut album, Cold Spring Harbor. According to Variety, a representative for Joel said he "is not involved with this film project, and that no rights in music, name/likeness or life story will be granted," and that the music needs for the film are reportedly "yet to be determined." Jaigantic Studios instead acquired Artie Mazur's life rights -- the music manager served as Joel's representative from 1970 to 1972; Mazur's father owned the Long Island club that Joel, along with The Hassles, got his start in 1966. "Billy Joel has been a part of my life since my father signed him to his record label when I was 4 years old; his music is ingrained in my DNA and it's been a dream of mine as a filmmaker to explore and celebrate the untold story of how Billy Joel became the Piano Man," Adam Ripp says. There is no word as yet when pre-production on Piano Man will begin. Meanwhile, Billy Joel is scheduled to perform several stadium concerts in 2022, with the next stop at the Campus World Stadium in Orlando on Mar. 12. He also has six scheduled appearances at Madison Square Garden between Mar. 24 and Aug. 24. - Billboard, 3/10/22...... Famed rock photographer Neal Preston says he's certain there will never be a Led Zeppelin reunion, because Robert Plant simply doesn't want to make any sort of rock music anymore. "There is never going to be a Led Zeppelin reunion. And if you hear that there is, I authorize you to cash out, liquidate everything and put it on 'No, it's not going to happen.' It comes up every year and it's not going to happen, and it never was going to happen," Preston says in a recent interview with Goldmine magazine. Preston, the only photographer ever hired by Zeppelin to go on tour with them, said he even passed on attending the one-off Led Zep concert years ago "because I need that band to live somewhere in my brain." "Robert [Plant] just doesn't want to make that music anymore. They offered them so much money for the 'Old Chella' thing, the desert trip show. It's never going to happen! I don't want to see a 75-year-old Jimmy Page duckwalking across the stage." Preston also addressed the occasional reunion shows that the remaining members of the band did, including a performance at London's O2 arena in 2007 that featured drummer John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, on the drums. Neal said: "I know that the show at the O2 in London got great reviews, but it's not Led Zeppelin! It's three guys from Led Zeppelin and Jason Bonham." - Music-News.com, 3/10/22...... 
Publisher Simon & Schuster announced on Mar. 8 that a new Bob Dylan book dedicated to the art of songwriting, 
The legendary Detroit rock band MC5 announced on 
In 2015, iconic '70s Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta introduced Idina Menzel, who was about to sing "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen, as "Adele Dazeem," an inexplicable gaffe which made Travolta the subject of much mockery and ridicule in the media in the following weeks and was even mocked during the following year's Oscars by host Neil Patrick Harris. Now, Travolta will present at the upcoming 94th Annual Academy Awards for the first time since 2015 when he made the embarrassing gaffe (which can be viewed on 
In 1985, former The Police frontman Sting released his debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles, which featured a track ruminating about the Cold War called "Russians." Sting says he has "only rarely" sung the song -- which expressed a hope that both the US and Soviet Union would find some kind of common humanity before destroying the world through nuclear warfare -- since it was written "because I never thought it would be relevant again." But now with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the song has once again, sadly, found relevance, and Sting has posted a video of himself performing it on 
That is the question that all of us should ask," Wonder asked. "Are we surprised that the forces of evil are alive and aggressive in today's world? I'm not surprised, and you shouldn't be either. I write and sing about it because I can feel it. You should know about it because you can see, unless you have a blind eye to it and don't want to do anything about it, you should see it." Wonder concluded: "Hate has no color, has no loyalty. Greed has no commitment, but to itself. Only you, the people, can prevent World War III. We must stand up to hate and kill hate before it kills us. I believe in power of the people, all the people. We can stop this right now." Meanwhile, punk rock legend Iggy Pop has announced he's cancelling a number of his scheduled live shows in Russia following the invasion. Pop was due to perform a headline show at the Park Live festival in Moscow on July 10 alongside Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, but on Mar. 1 promoters Solo Music Agency confirmed that Iggy's appearance at the event will no longer go ahead. "In light of current events, this is necessary. Our thoughts are with the Ukrainians and all the brave people who oppose this violence and seek peace," Solo Music posted on 
Accomplished Broadway star Will Swenson has been tapped to portray music icon Neil Diamond in the upcoming production "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical" when it makes its debut at Boston's Emerson Colonial Theatre this summer. Swenson's Broadway credits include the hit musical "Waitress" opposite Sara Bareilles, creating the role of Javert in the 2014 revival of "Les Misrablés," and starring in "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" and "110 in the Shade." Penned by four-time screenwriting Academy Award-nominee Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest Hour), "A Beautiful Noise" will be directed by Tony-winner Michael Mayer and choreographed by four-time Tony-nominee Steven Hoggett. It will play the Emerson Colonial Theatre from June 21-July 31. Swenson told the AP that "A Beautiful Noise" is "not straightforward musical... It's unconventional and it's beautiful." Swenson adds he's become so adept at singing Neil Diamond that he developed an impression, using it in concert with his wife, Audra McDonald, and at cabarets. So when it was time to play Diamond in front of the man himself, Swenson had an "out-of-body experience." "If you want to talk about a surreal moment, try singing 30 Neil Diamond songs while portraying Neil Diamond, 10 feet away from Neil Diamond. It was the most crazy, crazy experience of my life," he said. - Billboard, 3/5/22...... Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar have been confirmed as the Pyramid Stage headliners at this year's legendary U.K. event The Glastonbury Festival. McCartney will return to Glastonbury in 2022 to headline on the Saturday (6/25), and Lamar, who will go last on the Sunday, organizers announced on Mar. 4. Also announced for this year's event are Diana Ross, Billie Eilish, Angelique Kidjo, Arlo Parks, Australian acts Amyl And the Sniffers and The Avalanches. Organizers have shared poster line-up of acts confirmed so far on 
Randy Newman announced on 
Actor Mitchell Ryan, the square-jawed character actor who played a heroin-smuggling retired general in the first Lethal Weapon movie, an ex-con on the TV series Dark Shadows, and an obnoxious father on Dharma & Greg, died on Mar. 4 of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles. He was 88. Mr. Ryan was perhaps at his best as Shorty Austin, a ranch hand who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, in the Lee Marvin-Jack Palance Western Monte Walsh (1970). Born in Cincinnati on Jan. 11, 1934, and raised in Louisville, Ky., Mr. Ryan moved to New York and worked on the stage and in television, then made his film debut in Thunder Road (1958), starring Mitchum. He had a big year in 1973, when he appeared opposite Clint Eastwood in 
Johnny Brown, the easygoing actor/comedian/singer best known for portraying the housing project superintendent Nathan Bookman on the CBS sitcom