Posted by Administrator on July 25th, 2024
After a new trailer for the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown was shared on YouTube on July 24, fans have been reacting to the film on social media, with some claiming that the film might even shake up the Oscars next year. "This movie will drop in December. I hope it'll be recognized for the Oscars. This movie right here from what we have seen is amazing. I am so here for this!," said one fan. A synopsis of the film, starring Timothe Chalamet as Dylan, Elle Fanning as his girlfriend, Sylvie Russo, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Edward Norton as folk music legend Pete Seeger, says it's "set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, [and] follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan's meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts -- his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation -- culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965." Others were critical of Chalamet's acting skills, with one user posting: "I am never going to see this as anything but Timothee Chalamet doing Bob Dylan cosplay." Some were nonplussed by Chalamet's singing as Dylan, while others branded it as "perfect" as "spot on." A Complete Unknown comes from filmmaker James Mangold, who previously directed the hit Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, and will premiere in the US sometime in December and the UK in January. - New Musical Express, 7/24/24...... 
After weeks of mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, Pres. Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he was doing just that -- shortly after which he endorsed his own vice president, Kamala Harris, to take on the role instead. Among the many musicians of all generations to immediately throw their support to Harris were '70s superstars Barbra Streisand and Carole King. Streisand posted a fierce defense of the Biden-Harris administration on X before stating her endorsement of Harris for 2024. "I love Joe Biden, and all the wonderful things he's done for our country," she wrote. "Trump is a pathological liar who lies as easily as he breathes. He wants to take away women's rights and destroy our great democracy. Kamala Harris will continue Joe Biden's work and will be a great president." Carole King, after staunchly standing by Pres. Biden up until he announced the end of his candidacy, was also quick to voice support for Harris. "Right person. Right time," she wrote, sharing a past photo of her posing with the new Democratic front-runner," she posted on Instagram. Cher, who released the song "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe" in 2020, noted that Biden's withdrawal from the upcoming presidential race was a wise move for the Democratic Party. "I Believe Its Only Chance 4 [American flag emoji] 2 Remain DEMOCRACY. DEM PARTY MUST 'REALLY,' 'REALLY' THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX," Cher wrote on X. "'WINNING IS ALL', DONT WIN CANT CHANGE ANYTHING & THE TIMES THEY MUST BE A CHANGIN," she added. Meanwhile, Cher posted the cover of her upcoming two-part memoir on her Instagram on July 24, revealing a throwback pic from early in her six-decade career and her name splayed in color-shifting font just above. The book, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, is due out on Nov. 19 through Dey Street/Harper Collins. "After more than seventy years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in a two-part memoir," the publisher wrote in a statement about the book that will chronicle the 78-year-old singer's childhood and tumultuous marriage to late partner Sonny Bono. "With her trademark honesty and humor, Cher: The Memoir traces how this diamond in the rough succeeded with no plan and little confidence to become the trailblazing superstar the world has been unable to ignore for more than half a century." The second part of the autobiography is slated for release in 2025. - Billboard, 7/24/24...... The estate of Michael Jackson has scored a victory in litigation over a $600 million catalog sale. The estate recently won a key ruling in a legal battle with the late singer's mother Katherine Jackson -- and though it's only a "tentative" win, the stakes are enormous. A California appeals court tentatively rejected Katherine's objections -- ruling that it would likely rule for the estate both procedurally (that she had failed to preserve arguments on appeal) and substantively (that the estate's executors had the power to make the Sony deal.) In other MJ news, a rare collection of the star's signed drawings will be auctioned off on Aug. 3. The 78 sketches made using wax pencils and pastels, as well as watercolors include images of the singer in a Jedi-style robe, as well as drawings of chairs, Michelangelo's David, a number of U.S. presidents, Peter Pan, pop art icon Andy Warhol, Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe and Queen Elizabeth II. Browse the collection on Instagram to see images Jackson sketched of shoes, doors, chairs, keys, bi-planes, the gates of his Neverland Ranch and flowers. The unique auction will feature one mega-lot, Lot #1, which requires an opening bid of $1 million for the entire collection. If a bidder meets that price then the auction will be over right away; otherwise each piece will be sold separately. The auction will be co-hosted by Selling Sunset's Bre Tiesi and an as-yet-unnamed special surprise host. - Billboard, 7/23/24...... The Rolling Stones have been known as the world's greatest rock and roll band for six decades, but Grammy voters were shamefully late in getting on board. The Stones weren't nominated in any category until the 1979 ceremony, when Some Girls was nominated for Album of the Year. One reason is that Grammy voters in '60s and '70s were resistant to rock, favoring pop and what we now call traditional pop. (Nowadays, Grammy voters love rock and have been slow to embrace hip-hop. Resistance to the new and different is often a byproduct of institutional voting.) Another reason The Stones were left out for so long was the Grammys didn't have performance categories dedicated to rock until 1980 -- and didn't have a Best Rock Album category until 1995. (Fittingly, The Stones were the first winner of the latter award.) Since Grammy voters belatedly discovered The Stones, the band has fared pretty well in the nominations. They won a Grammy (Best Traditional Blues Album) for their previous studio album, High & Lonesome, and their three studio albums before that were each nominated for Best Rock Album. Now the band's 2023 album Hackney Diamonds, which was produced by Andrew Watt, has an excellent chance of landing a Best Rock Album nod and an outside chance of landing an Album of the Year nod. "Angry," the album's opening track and lead single, was nominated for Best Rock Song at the ceremony in February. The 2025 nominations will be announced on Nov. 8. The awards will be presented on Feb. 2, 2025. - Billboard, 7/23/24...... The Farm Aid benefit concert is returning to New York in 2024, and will be held Sept. 21 at Broadview Stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. This year's lineup features performances from Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds). The bill also includes Mavis Staples, Lukas Nelson with the Travelin' McCourys, Southern Avenue, Cassandra Lewis and Jesse Welles. Additional artists will be announced at a later date. This marks the third time Farm Aid has been held in New York (and the second time in Saratoga Springs). In 2007, Farm Aid was held at Randall's Island, N.Y., followed by Saratoga Springs in 2013. Farm Aid will feature not only music, but also homegrown food and agrarian experiences. Over more than 35 years, Farm Aid has raised nearly $80 million to aid programs that help farmers survive and thrive. Tickets for Farm Aid 2024 will go on sale Friday, July 26, at 10 a.m. ET at livenation.com. - Billboard, 7/23/24...... 
A pair of John Lennon's tinted glasses along with a collection of photographs taken of The Beatles at Abbey Road Studio in London are set to go up for auction on July 31 at Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey, UK. According to BBC, Lennon's glasses -- a pair of round specs with blue-tinted lenses -- were gifted to a man who was visiting Abbey Road Studios by the late musician himself back in 1968. Speaking about the specs, a spokesperson for Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers said that they were handed to the man by Lennon after the man saw them placed on top of a piano. "The young man saw the spectacles lying on the piano and went to pick them up but was told by his then girlfriend to leave them, to which Lennon replied, 'It's OK, he can have them'," they said. They are expected to reach roughly £3,000 at the auction. A collection of 33 black and white photos taken at Abbey Road will also be auctioned along with the copyright for an estimated £200 to £300. The photographs include shots of Lennon and his bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr as well as producer George Martin snapped on the day of the photoshoot for the band's Abbey Road album cover of the band walking across a zebra crossing. - NME, 7/22/24...... In an interview with LifeMinute, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford said that his cancer was still in remission, four years after being diagnosed with the disease. Back in 2021, Halford revealed that: "I had my little cancer battle a year ago, which I got through and that's in remission now, thank God," he said at the time. "That happened while we were all locked down, so things happen for a reason as far as time sequence of events. I have nothing but gratitude to be at this point in my life, still doing what I love the most." Now, he's spoken about still being in remission following his treatment. He explained: "I always take an opportunity to thank the Lord for me being here still, but also my great medical team. And guys, be proactive. Make sure you get your blood work done, your PSA [prostate-specific antigen] checked. I couldn't believe how efficient and the love and the care and the attention that health workers give to each and every one of us." "I had my prostate removed," he continued. "I had some meds and follow-up treatment found a little bit more stuff, so we had to go in for two months of radiation treatment. You do what you've gotta do. The important thing is to stay optimistic, stay positive." He added: "I love my family, my healthcare people that want the best for you. So you can push through it. So anybody that's struggling with that right now, keep that heavy metal faith. With all the due care and diligence and attention, you'll survive." Halford's full interview can be streamed on YouTube. - NME, 7/19/24...... The Pointer Sisters and The Commodores will kick off a joint "An Evening With Icons" tour on July 26 in Oxon Hill, Md., then resume on Oct. 5 in Durant, Okla., Nov. 14 in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 15 in Hollywood, Fla., and Nov. 30 in Primm, Nev. The current incarnation of The Spinners will open all of the dates. Sole Commodores remaining founding member William "WAK" King said the tour was brought together by the agencies: "It wasn't as though we and The Pointer Sisters sat down one day and said, 'Hey, let's put a tour together.' It was brought about through the agencies we both worked with and we both said, 'Yeah, it would be great.' So here we are." Ruth Pointer added, "When they introduced the whole idea to me, I thought, 'Yeah, that could be fun. I haven't seen those guys in quite awhile, but that sounds like a good time to me!'" King said his favorite Pointer Sisters song was "Jump (For My Love)." "It's got to have a hook in there. The track has to grab youand that's what ["Jump"] does," he noted. Pointer says her favorite Commodores number is probably "Nightshift." "We were recording around the same time and we happened to be working with [producer-writer] Peter Wolf and he told us he worked on that song with them and we were like, 'Oh, well, OK, let's go," she says. - Billboard, 7/24/24...... 
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on July 19, Scottish pop legend Lulu opened up about her hearing problem. "If you're 75 I don't think your hearing is going to be good as it used to be," Lulu, 75, explained. "But if you're in the rock 'n' roll business, if you're a performer, and a lot of them... are deaf!" She added, "They have no hearing at all." Lulu then revealed that she had recently had her hearing tested. "And yes, moderate hearing loss but you know me, I don't want to not hear people!" she said. "I want to hear everything and my music." The "To Sir With Love" singer recently teamed up with Specsavers and the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) to promote hearing protection. "After being on stage nearly all of my life, I have always noticed ringing and muffled sounds, but never really thought much of it," she explained in a statement via the Daily Record. "Music has always been a cornerstone of everything I do, so it's incredibly important that I can still enjoy it. Wearing hearing aids will mean I can continue to hear every note." Elsewhere in the interview, Lulu confirmed that although her upcoming Champagne for Lulu tour will be her last, she is still open to performing in the future. "This is not the last time ever I'm going to sing, not the last time ever I'm going to perform, but doing tours the way I've done them... I'm 75," she explained. Lulu announced her final tour in February during an appearance on the Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth podcast. "This is actually -- I'm announcing it for the first time now -- this is my farewell tour, with family and friends. Because last year I did a tour that was kind of gruelling -- it was successful, it went well -- but you need an army to be a success in your career these days." She added, "And I felt unsupported. But then I turned 75, and I thought, 'You know what, I want to carry on working, but I want to do it a different way.'" Lulu's 10-city tour launches in Torquay on Nov. 3, also visiting Portsmouth, Nottingham, Hull, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Brighton, Leeds and Ipswich before wrapping in Southend-On-Sea on Nov. 18. - Music-News.com, 7/22/24...... Cable channel ESPN will bridge music and sports in the upcoming Mickey Hart film Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience. Hart, the beloved Grateful Dead and Dead & Company drummer, will take viewers on a "sonic journey as he creates an original score inspired by conversations with legendary and iconic voices from the world of sports," according to the film's synopsis. "His breath-taking score combined with insight from athletes helps show the depths of the universal rhythm found in music, sports, and life." The athletes set to be featured in the film include Phil Jackson, Joe Montana, Ozzie Smith, Mario Andretti, Jack Nicklaus, Bob Cousy and the late Bill Walton, a noted Deadhead and a world-class basketball star and NBA coach. In a trailer for the film, which can be viewed on YouTube, Hart is heard saying: "He who knows the rhythm, knows the world." The film will premiere on ESPN and ESPN+ on Aug. 14. - Billboard, 7/24/24...... Jerry Miller, one of the music world's most beloved and admired guitarists and co-founder of Moby Grape, died on July 21 in his Tacoma, Wash., home. He was 81 years old and his cause of death has yet to be revealed. Born in Tacoma, Wash., in 1943, Mr. Miller grew up playing in various local bands including The Elegants, The Incredible Kingsmen and The Frantics. When he was just 23 years old, he co-founded Moby Grape as the lead guitarist alongside Skip Spence (guitar), Bob Mosley (bass), Don Stevenson (Drums) andPeter Lewis (guitar). The band name, chosen by Mosley and Spence, was inspired by the punch line of the joke: "What's big and purple and lives in the ocean?" The group signed with Columbia Records and recorded four albums for the label between 1967 and 1969 -- their self-titled debut in 1967, 1968's Wow/Grape Jam, 1969's Moby Grape '69 and 1969's Truly Fine Citizen. Moby Grape disbanded in 1970, but regrouped in 1971 and have played and recorded music with various members throughout the years since. Mr. Miller's guitar skills were beloved in the instrumentalist community, with Robert Plant citing the musician as an influence for Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton naming him the "best guitar player in the world." - Billboard, 7/22/24...... 
Prolific songwriter-producer Jerry Fuller died of lung cancer on July 18 at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 85. Mr. Fuller wrote two songs that reached No. 1 on hit parade: Ricky Nelson's "Travelin' Man" in 1961 and Al Wilson's "Show and Tell" in 1974. He also produced the latter song, which in addition to topping the Billboard Hot 100 reached No. 10 on what was then known as Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles. He also wrote Nelson's "A Wonder Like You," his follow-up to "Travelin' Man," which reached No. 11 on the Hot 100, as well as two subsequent Nelson singles that went top 10: "Young World" (No. 5) and "It's Up to You" (No. 6). Mr. Fuller had another solid run of hits in 1968 with Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, writing the group's punchy pop hits "Young Girl" and "Lady Willpower," which spent a combined five weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100, and the mellower, adult contemporary-oriented "Over You," which reached No. 7. All three of those singles went gold. Born in Fort Worth, Tex. on Nov. 19, 1938, Mr. Fuller moved to Los Angeles in early 1959. In 1960, while touring with The Champs (best known for their 1958 smash "Tequila"), Mr. Fuller got to know Glen Campbell, who remained a lifelong friend. Early in his career, Mr. Fuller worked as a demo singer, which led to a recording and songwriting contract with Gene Autry's Four Star Music and Challenge Records. Mr. Fuller had four Hot 100 hits as an artist from 1959-61, the highest-charting of which (a rockabilly cover version of the standard "Tennessee Waltz") reached No. 61. But he had far more success working with other artists. He originally wrote "Travelin' Man" for Sam Cooke -- it has the pop flavor of such Cooke hits of the period as "Only Sixteen," "Wonderful World" and "Cupid" -- but it made its way to Nelson instead. Mr. Fuller was unique among writer/producers in that he also produced songs he didn't write, including O.C. Smith's recording of Bobby Russell's "Little Green Apples," which reached No. 2 on both the Hot 100 and Billboard's Best Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles (as the chart was then known) in 1968; and The Knickerbockers' 1965 power-pop hit "Lies." "Lies," which has the energy of Beatles hits of the era, also underscores Fuller's range. From power-pop to ballads; from pop/soul to country, his hits defied easy categorization. In the 1970s, Mr. Fuller formed his own companies, Moonchild Productions In. and Fullness Music Company. Mr. Fuller is survived by his wife, the former Annette Smerigan, and their two children, Adam Lee and Anna Nicole. - Billboard, 7/22/24...... 
Abdul Kareem "Duke" Fakir, the last of the original Four Tops and a stalwart of Motown's golden age died from heart failure on July 22. He was 88. Mr. Fakir, who co-founded the Four Tops in 1953, had been in poor health, including bladder cancer and had retired from touring late last year. Mr. Fakir was born in Detroit on Dec. 26, 1935; his father was a factory worker who'd come over from what is now Bangladesh. He played football, basketball and ran track in high school, meeting Stubbs through neighborhood football games; the two began singing after separately attending a variety show, eventually recruiting Payton and Benson to form the group, first called The Aims but later changed to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers. The Four Tops recorded without success for several labels -- including Chess, Red Top, Riverside and Columbia -- and supported Billy Eckstine before signing with Motown in 1963. The group started out recording standards for the label's Workshop Jazz Records imprint, but when the songwriting/production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland gave The Tops "Baby I Need Your Loving" in mid-1964, it hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, which opened the floodgates for a string of hits that included "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "It's the Same Old Song." The Tops had several stints with Motown, and away from that company it also had hits with "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," "Are You Man Enough" and "When She Was My Girl." The Tops were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Fakir accepted a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the band in 2009. "Reach Out I'll Be There" was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 20AbA22. With his glasses and angular frame, Mr. Fakir was arguably the most recognizable of The Tops and maintained his leadership in the group following the deaths of Levi Stubbs in 2008, Renaldo "Obie" Benson in 2005 and Lawrence Payton in 1997 (his son Lawrence Payton Jr. is part of the current lineup). In addition to his memoir, Mr. Fakir was also working on a stage musical based on The Four Tops' story. "I'm at such a loss," said Otis Williams of The Temptations. "He is now with Levi, Lawrence and Peyton, singing for God. I miss you and love you, brother." Mr. Fakir is survived by his wife, Piper, five sons, 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. - Billboard, 7/22/24...... 
Influential British blues musician John Mayall, whose band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for the likes of Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other rock superstars, died on July 22 at his home in California. He was 90. "Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world's greatest road warriors," a post on his Instagram page said. Mr. Mayall is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s. At various times, the Bluesbreakers included Clapton and Jack Bruce, later of Cream; Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac; Mick Taylor, who played five years with the Rolling Stones; Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor of Canned Heat; and Jon Mark and John Almond, who went on to form the Mark-Almond Band. He protested in interviews that he was not a talent scout, but played for the love of the music he had first heard on his father's 78-rpm records. "I'm a band leader and I know what I want to play in my band -- who can be good friends of mine," he said in an interview with the Southern Vermont Review. "It's definitely a family. It's a small kind of thing really." Born on Nov. 29, 1933 in Macclesfield, near Manchester in central England, Mr. Mayall was often called the "father of British blues," but when he moved to London in 1962 his aim was to soak up the nascent blues scene led by Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Eric Burdon were among others drawn to the sound. The piano was his main instrument, though he also performed on guitar and harmonica, as well as singing in a distinctive, strained-sounding voice. Aided only by drummer Keef Hartley, Mr. Mayall played all the other instruments for his 1967 album Blues Alone. Mr. Mayall's 1968 album Blues From Laurel Canyon signaled a permanent move to the United States and a change in direction. He disbanded the Bluesbreakers and worked with two guitars and drums. The 1970s found Mr. Mayall at low ebb personally, but still touring and doing more than 100 shows a year. "Throughout the '70s, I performed most of my shows drunk," he said in a 1990 Down Beat magazine interview. One consequence was an attempt to jump from a balcony into a swimming pool that missed -- shattering one of his heels and leaving him with a limp. "That was one incident that got me to stop drinking," he said. In 1982, he reformed the Bluesbreakers, recruiting Taylor and McVie, but after two years the personnel changed again. In 2008, he announced that he was permanently retiring the Bluesbreaker name, and in 2013 he was leading the John Mayall Band. Among the many rock stars lamenting his death on social media were Mick Fleetwood, who posted on Instagram that Mr. Mayall's death is like "losing a musical father... a guiding light to so many of us young English players!," and Eric Clapton, who thanked Mr. Mayall on X for "rescuing me from oblivion!... He found me and took me into his home and asked me to join his band, and I stayed with him and I learned all that I really have to draw on today in terms of technique and desire to play the kind of music I love to play. I did all my research in his home, in his record collection." Mr. Mayall and his second wife, Maggie, divorced in 2011 after 30 years of marriage. They had two sons. - Billboard, 7/23/24.
Deep Purple and Yes will kick off a co-headlining tour on Aug. 14 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla., visiting such cities as Tampa, Fort Worth, CIncinnati, Chicago, and Atlantic City, before wrapping on Sept. 8 in Scranton, Penn. Despite 53 years after original Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore delayed Yes's headline slot at the Jazz and Blues Festival in 1971 by setting fire to amplifiers, the two bands have no hard feelings. "We did some festivals together -- one in particular called the Plumpton Jazz and Blues Festival in '71," says Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover. Ian Gillan and I had only been in the band a couple of months at that point. There was an argument about who'd be closing the show, and they won the argument and were closing the show. Ritchie set fire to his amplifiers and made them explode on stage. So they were delayed a lot and weren't very happy with that." However, they didn't hold a grudge, and the groups are set to hit the road again in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the classic rock staple "Smoke On The Water." Roger added: "We've met them since. They're a great band. We saw (Yes guitarist) Steve Howe a couple years ago. We got on, no hard feelings. I don't know which state they're in now, which combination of musicians they have, so I'll be happily surprised." - Music-News.com, 7/19/24...... 
Forbes magazine has declared Bruce Springsteen a billionaire by a "conservative" estimate. On July 19, the publication reported the Boss, 74, had reached an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. In terms of other musicians who've crossed into billionaire status, he ranks under Jay-Z ($2.5 billion), Rihanna ($1.4 billion) and Taylor Swift ($1.3 billion). Much of Springsteen's wealth comes from his decades-spanning catalog, which he sold back to his longtime label -- Sony's Columbia Records -- for a whopping $500 million in 2021, the largest deal ever for an individual body of work. At that point, his recordings had racked up 65.5 million sales in the U.S., including his iconic multiplatinum albums Born In The U.S.A. and The River. Springsteen has had only praise for his label, Columbia Records, who he says "have treated me with the greatest respect as an artist and as a person." The New Jersey rocker has also remained a touring force well into the later years of his career, with his 2023 world tour selling more than 1.6 million tickets and generating $380 million in revenue, according to Pollstar. He and his E Street Band are currently on tour again, with dates planned all the way up through July of 2025. Springsteen has also nabbed another chart first; recently making his debut on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for his appearance on Zach Bryan's "Sandpaper." It also marked Springsteen's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in over 15 years. The track entered at Nos. 26 and 71 on the respective charts. Springsteen showed up to duet with Bryan on "Sandpaper" on March 27 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The song is drawing comparisons to Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" -- one of seven Hot 100 top 10s from his Born in the U.S.A. album in 1984-86 -- which Bryan has covered in concert. Meanwhile, England fans' embrace of Springsteen's 1984 classic "Dancing In The Dark" to sing the praises of footballer Phil Foden at the Euros 2024 has paid off -- the song has re-entered the UK Top 40 for the first time in 39 years. The last time "Dancing In The Dark" was in the Top 40 was Apr. 1985. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 7/19/24...... Attorneys for Priscilla Presley filed a scathing lawsuit against four of her former business partners over allegations of elder abuse and fraud, accusing them of a "meticulously planned" scheme to drain Elvis Presley's ex-wife of "every last penny she had." In a complaint filed on July 18 in Los Angeles court, lawyers for Presley, 79, accuse Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, Vahe Sislyan and Lynn Walker Wright of fraudulently convincing her to give them power over nearly every aspect of her life -- and then abusing that control to steal her money. Calling Kruse a "con-artist and pathological liar," high-profile L.A. attorney Martin Singer, who now represents Presley, says the defendants took more than $1 million from Priscilla and convinced her to sign a deal that would give them 80% of her future income. "The fact that the plaintiff in this case is internationally recognized actress, author, and cultural icon & demonstrates both how effective the defendants' plan was (and needed to be), and how anyone can be a victim of elder abuse and fraud," Singer writes. The new case comes eight months after Kruse's company, Priscilla Presley Partners, filed its own lawsuit against Priscilla in Florida. That case claimed that Presley illegally turned her back on Kruse and Fialko after they had helped her "dig herself out of impending financial ruin," including negotiating the deal that led to last year's Priscilla biopic. But in the new lawsuit, Singer argues that the earlier case was merely a cover for Kruse and Fialko's alleged misdeeds. Singer and Priscilla's other attorneys say that Kruse and the others "established a personal relationship" with her and then used it to "isolate her from her long-time business and financial advisors," whom they argued were "deceitful or incompetent" and causing her to lose money. Once they had isolated her, the lawsuit says, Kruse and the others took steps to "fraudulently induce" Presley into signing over power of attorney, giving them control over her trusts and bank accounts, and signing deals with "sham" companies like Priscilla Presley Partners. One of those deals, the lawsuit says, gave the defendants "an exclusive license to exploit and profit off of her name, image, and likeness, and to control and receive virtually all of her income from any of her professional ventures." Neither side has yet to comment on the lawsuit. - Billboard, 7/19/24...... 
On July 18 Paul McCartney sent a special message to Cincinatti at the debut of his "Liverpool Oratorio" opera. While the city did not get the get the breathlessly hoped-for drop-in from the former Beatles icon at the world premiere of the Cincinnati Opera's take on Sir Paul's "Liverpool Oratorio," they did get a very special message from the night's absent guest of honor. "Hello, Cincinnati! Good evening. I'm so excited to hear that the Cincinnati Opera is putting on my Liverpool Oratorio," McCartney said in a pre-taped message that played for the capacity crowd in Cincinnati Music Hall's 2,300-capacity Springer Auditorium before the opening night of the fresh take on his first classical composition. "This work is really special for me because it was the first large scale thing like this that I'd done, and it's largely based on a lot of events from my childhood. The school I went to& the teacher, Miss Inkley, who was the only female teacher in a school of a thousand boys. So it's really true, as it says in the opera, where she says, 'Hello, boys. You can call me, 'Sir,'" McCartney continued. "Well, as 11-year-olds, it's a little difficult to make sense of that. But anyway, I love the piece, and I love that you're doing it there in Cincinnati. So I hope you have a great evening. Thank you very much for putting it on. I wish I was there with you, but I can't be there. So I'm here. So have a great one. Thank you." And though the 82-year-old Beatle wasn't on hand to see the Opera's high-energy take on his eight-movement homage to his hometown, in the weeks leading up to the debut the city was blanketed with a blizzard of posters, social media messages and memes encouraging locals to help "Get Paul to the Hall." The effort was intended to spur interest in the $1.3 million original production that over the course of 90 minutes tells the story a "war baby" named Shanty, who, like McCartney, comes into a fiery world engulfed in the air raid blitz of WWII. At the final dress rehearsal on July 16, the cast was dialed in to the tale that mixes hope, tragedy, redemption and joy into a joyous spectacle that unfolds on a massive map of Liverpool. After its debut more than 30 years ago, the piece written for orchestra and vocalists has not been performed very often, but the energy and spirit of the Cincinnati Opera's refreshing version seems destined to give the Liverpool Oratorio a second life. Photos from the production can be viewed on Instagram. - Billboard, 7/19/24...... 
The 2024 Kennedy Center Honors will feature a mix of the psychedelic and the soulful with a touch of jazz. Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and jazz trumpeter/pianist/composer Arturo Sandoval will be among this years class announced on July 18 that also includes legendary director Francis Ford Coppola and New York's Apollo theater. In a first, The Apollo theater in Harlem in a special honor as an "iconic American Institution." "It goes without saying that the Kennedy Center Honors represents the highest of reaches for artistic achievement," the Grateful Dead's surviving members wrote in a joint statement. "To be recognized alongside the artists who have in the past received this honor is beyond humbling. The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation.... so it also must be said that our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us. This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours." In a statement, Raitt said, "I am deeply honored and thrilled to have been chosen to receive one of this year's Kennedy Center Honors. I have long been an admirer of the awards and have been so blessed to be able to participate in several shows honoring others.... I want to extend my sincere thanks to all who have chosen me to receive this honor. I look forward to the upcoming ceremony and festivities, which I know will be one of my life's peak experiences." The Kennedy Center Honors celebrates individuals whose unique contributions to American arts and culture at an event where the the honorees are seated in the box tier of the Kennedy Center Opera House while their peers pay homage with performances and tributes. The event that will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center For the Performing Arts in WasThe Greatest Night in Pop, a deep dive into the 1985 recording session that produced "We Are the World," has been nominated for an Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special Emmy award-- and Lionel Richie is celebrating the accomplishment. "I am still amazed by what we accomplished in 1985 and I'm even more amazed after receiving an Emmy nomination for 'The Greatest Night In Pop,'" the Richie wrote in a statement. "It has been an absolute joy to be able to bring this moment in history to life alongside @netflix. A big thank you and congratulations to all of the artists and participants for making 'We Are The World' happen, and thank you to the @televisionacad for recognizing our documentary." The documentary follows the group of 45 all-star musicians -- Richie included -- who gathered together Jan. 25, 1985, as they "checked their egos at the door and recorded a song to benefit African famine relief that would alter global pop culture history," the official synopsis for the film reads. The Greatest Night in Pop included never-before-seen footage of the song's planning and writing process, as well as Henson Studios where the recording of the track took place. The film is also up for Directing For a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Sound Editing For a Nonfiction or Reality Program. - Billboard, 7/17/24...... 
Bob Newhart, the beloved stand-up performer whose droll, deadpan humor showcased on two critically acclaimed CBS sitcoms vaulted him into the ranks of history's greatest comedians, died on the morning of July 18. He was 94. Jerry Digney, his longtime publicist, said the Chicago legend died at his Los Angeles home after a series of short illnesses. George Robert Newhart was born on Sept. 5, 1929, in Oak Park, Ill. He grew up a Cubs fan and participated in the team's victory parade down La Salle Street after Chicago took the National League pennant in 1945. Mr. Newhart never dreamed of being in show business; in fact, such a gaudy profession ran against the Midwestern grain of his personality and perhaps was why he would connect with Middle America. After attending St. Ignatius College Prep and then earning a degree in commerce from Loyola University, Mr. Newhart spent two years in the Army and then flunked out of law school. He then worked as an accountant with U.S. Gypsum and then the Glidden Co., which sold paint. Somehow there's a connection between numbers and music and comedy. I don't know what it is, but I know it's there," he once said in an interview with a college business professor. "I know it's a case of 2 and 2 equals 5 in terms of a comedian. You take this fact and you take that fact and then you come up with this ludicrous fact." To combat the tedium at work, Mr. Newhart and a friend would amuse themselves by making prank phone calls. He refined those into what was then his signature comic bit: having a one-sided phone conversation (the audience got to imagine what the other side of the chat was like). He and his pal also sold a syndicated radio show in which they did five-minute comedy routines five days a week for $7.50 a week. In 1972, MTM Enterprises cast the modest comic as clinical psychologist Bob Hartley, who practiced in the real-life Newhart's favorite burg, Chicago. The Bob Newhart Show would become one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, featuring a wonderful cast of supporting players: Suzanne Pleshette, Peter Bonerz, Marcia Wallace, Bill Daily and Jack Riley among them. Mr. Newhart ended the series in 1978 after 142 episodes -- and, incredibly, no Emmy nominations for him and no wins for the show -- feeling it had exhausted its bag of tricks. But he was back on CBS in 1982 to front another MTM comedy. In Newhart, he portrayed Dick Loudon, a New York author turned proprietor of the Stratford Inn in Vermont. The show was a mainstay for eight seasons, and this one also featured a great cast (Mary Frann, Tom Poston -- who later would marry Pleshette -- Julia Duffy, Peter Scolari and, as handymen "Larry, Darryl and their other brother Darryl," William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Voldstad). In one of the most admired series endings in history, Newhart wrapped its eight-season run with a cheeky final scene in which Loudon wakes up in the middle of the night as Bob Hartley in bed with Pleshette in their Chicago apartment, suggesting that his whole second series had been a dream. Newhart's pauses and stammering were among his trademarks, and his wry observations were a result of his observant nature. "I tend to find humor in the macabre. I would say 85 percent of me is what you see on the show. And the other 15 percent is a very sick man with a very deranged mind," he said during a 1990 interview with Los Angeles magazine. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1992, and won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best New Artist for his 1960 breakthrough record, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. The former accountant famously went without an Emmy Award until 2013, when he finally was given one for guest-starring as Arthur Jeffries (alias Professor Proton, former host of a children's science show) on CBS' The Big Bang Theory. Mr. Newhart and his late wife, Virginia "Ginny" Quinn who died in 2023 at age 82, were great friends with the late Don Rickles and his wife, Barbara, and the couples often vacationed together. Survivors include his children, Robert Jr., Timothy, Courtney and Jennifer, and 10 grandchildren. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/18/24.
The 
The battle involves termination rights under the 1976 Copyright Act. The legendary Motown singer, whose songs include "My Girl" and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," is in the process of reclaiming rights to his works. But as he was doing this Claudette Robinson, to whom he was married to between 1957 and 1986, says she put a hold on her own singing career to take care of the kids, and asserted that she deserved a 50 percent share of what he recovered. This led Smokey to file a lawsuit for declaratory relief with Claudette filing counterclaims. The dispute was closely-watched in the music community -- especially among artists reps -- with some talk about the conflict between federal copyright law and state family law and the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. - The Hollywood Reporter, 12/14/14...... In other R&B news, Aretha Franklin was honored as Billboard's Women in Music Icon of the Year at the annual Women in Music event in New York on Dec. 11. Introduced by longtime collaborator and friend Clive Davis, who lauded her for topping various Billboard charts a whopping 100 separate times, Franklin took the stage and delivered a brief speech. "I don't get the opportunity to be with industry people as much as I'd like to," she said. "I want to thank Billboard and their staff personnel for this." Stevie Wonder also sent in his regards via video, singing a congratulations to the tune of his own "My Cherie Amour." - Billboard, 12/12/14...... AC/DC have confirmed they will play gigs in the U.K. as part of their European tour in the summer of 2015. The Aussie headbangers will play Glasgow's Hampden Park on June 28 and Aviva Stadium in Dublin on July 1 before headlining London's Wembley Stadium on July 4. The performance in Glasgow will mark the first time AC/DC have played the U.K. and Ireland since their Black Ice world tour in 2009. The band also recently revealed that they would be open to the idea of headlining the Glastonbury festival if asked. Meanwhile, AC/DC has scored their third No. 1 album in the U.S. on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart with their new album 
In other Pink Floyd-related news, guitarist David Gilmour made a surprise appearance during a concert by the British band Bombay Bicycle Club on Dec. 13 at London's Earls Court Arena, the last ever concert at the venue before it is demolished and the site is redeveloped. Gilmour was introduced onto the stage by Bombay Bicycle Club guitarist Jamie MacColl. "This man gave me my first guitar and was one of the first people to play this venue and by my count has played here more than 27 times," he commented. Pink Floyd first played Earls Court Arena in 1973, on their Dark Side of the Moon tour. Gilmour playing lap steel guitar on the London's band's own song "'Rinse Me Down," before he picked up an acoustic guitar and sang Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" from the 1975 album of the same name, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd. - New Musical Express, 12/14/14...... Billy Joel's sold-out show at Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa., on Dec. 5, his first concert at the Penn State arena in 12 years, gave the Piano Man the top ranking in Billboard's Hot Tours list for the week ending Dec. 10. Joel played to a crowd of 12,077, and box office revenue totaled $1.3 million. Joel's last concert at Bryce Jordan Center was on Jan. 16, 2002, during a co-headlining trek with Elton John. That performance drew a sellout crowd of 15,030, generating $1.6 million in sales. The Penn State gig was the first of three events the pop star has scheduled for Dec. 2014. Next on the itinerary is the 12th sold-out performance of his monthly residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden on Dec. 18, and he is set to close out the year at Amway Center in Orlando on New Year's Eve. Other '70s artists ranking in the Top 10 concerts for the week included Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band for a show in Uncasville, Conn. on Dec. 6, James Taylor for a gig also in Uncasville on Dec. 4, and Bob Dylan for a show in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 26. - Billboard, 12/11/14...... Speaking of Bob Dylan, the rock bard has just announced details of his next studio album, a set of Frank Sinatra covers called 
Abba co-founder Bjorn Ulvaeus once again repeated his declaration that Abba will never again reunite in a new interview with the Associated Press on Dec. 8. "We took a break in '82, and it was meant to be a break. It's still a break and will remain so," Ulvaeus said. "You'll never see us onstage again." Ulvaeus also discussed the new photo book Abba: The Official Photo Book, which was released earlier in 2014 in Europe, and just recently in the United States. "I'm not a nostalgic person, but looking at these pictures really took me back," he said of the book, which features more than 600 photos from the height of the band's career in the 1970s. - AP, 12/9/14...... Joni Mitchell, who recently released a box set of music culled from her 40-year-plus catalog called 
Speaking before an audience of about 300 at England's Oxford University on Dec. 8, former Sex Pistols and current PiL frontman John Lydon said that all religion is "vile, poisonous and idiotic" and spoke of his exposure to paedophile priests as a young boy. "They spend all their time trying to make you believe things that can't possibly be true. Sounds a lot like the Tory party," he said. The irreverent punk rock icon, who was making his final public appearnce to promote his 2014 autobiography 
Paul McCartney appears as a hologram in a new video for "Hope For The Future," his song written specifically written for the video game Destiny. In the clip, Sir Paul sings to blue and green aliens about building bridges to the sky, as warriors walk around deserts with guns and spaceships fly over barren landscapes, among other sci-fi happenings happen. "Hope For The Future" was released with a variety of different mixes on Dec. 8, and McCartney was reportedly paid nothing for his participation in the Destiny project -- only taking part in it just for the sake of creativity. "I was intrigued by the intricacy of the music because in a game if you go one route a certain piece of the music plays," Macca told New Musical Express. "I know from my kids and my grandkids, they just bury themselves in a game and I don't think they've got time to listen to my music. Their agenda is pretty full with all the other stuff, you know, so I like the idea of infiltrating into their agenda." Asked whether or not he's played the hot first-person shooter game, McCartney responded: "I'm not very good at games. I've got so much else to be getting on with; I can't have my face in a screen, you know, bopping along in a game. I had a go and it was great, but I got mashed almost instantly. The aliens mashed me." After its release earlier in 2014, Destiny is on track to become one of the highest-selling video game franchises of all time. Meanwhile, Dec. 8 marked the 34th anniversary of the tragic loss of Paul's former bandmate John Lennon, and McCartney appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show on that date to reflect on John's death. "It was so horrific and I couldn't take it in...For days, you just couldn't think he was gone," he remembered, adding that he received the bad news via an early morning phone call at his home. He also said he believed Mark David Chapman's act was not politically motivated -- a "total random thing" -- and called Chapman" the jerk of all jerks." In other Beatles-related news, the Fab Four has topped Billboard's Vinyl Albums chart for the fifth time with "Long Tall Sally," a Black Friday Record Store Day exclusive. The limited-edition four-song 7" reissue also starts at No. 22 on Top Rock Albums, selling 6,000 copies (all on vinyl) in the week ending Nov. 30, according to Nielsen Music. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 12/9/14.
Motown icons The Temptations and The Four Tops, who still tour often and appeared on Broadway in 1986, will renew heir rivalry when they perform on Broadway again this winter for a seven-concert stand between Dec. 29-Jan. 4 at the Palace Theatre. The Four Tops' Abdul "Duke" Fakir and The Temptations' Otis Williams, the only surviving original members of their groups, admit they "still have love for each other" despite the rivalry. "We're very competitive," says Fakir. "That's the way Motown was built. Basically we competed all the while. But we competed in a wonderful way -- brother against brother." Their concerts are part nostalgia and part education, reminding the audience of the Motown sound and celebrating such songwriters as Lamont Dozier and the team of brothers (Brian) Holland and (Eddie) Holland. "I never would have imagined that I'd still be here singing songs that are half my age," says Williams, 73. "Those songs feel fantastic even if it is 60 years later." - AP, 12/9/14...... Jack Utsick, a former music promoter who produced events for top-name acts such as the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Aerosmith, has been extradited to the U.S. from Brazil to face charges in a $300 million fraud case. Utsick, 72, fled to Brazil in 2006 during investigations by the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission. After a lengthy court battle, Brazil ordered his extradition in August and he was flown to Miami on Dec. 6. Authorities say he operated his Worldwide Entertainment Inc. promotion company as a Ponzi scheme, repaying older investors with money from newer ones. The scheme defrauded an estimated 3,300 investors out of nearly $300 million. He is charged with eight counts of mail fraud, each carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Utsick has not yet entered a plea. - AP, 12/8/14...... David Bowie will face a host of newcomers including Ed Sheeran, Elbow, Jungle, Royal Blood and Sam Smith for the title of "British Artist of the Year" at the inaugural BBC Music Awards on Dec. 11. The BBC Music Awards will take place before an audience of 13,500 at London's Earls Court. Despite his nomination, Bowie has in 2014 only released two new tracks and hits compilation Nothing Has Changed. - New Musical Express, 12/8/14...... The lyrics of two early unrecorded Bob Dylan songs from the early 1960s failed to sell at an auction conducted by Christie's in New York on Dec. 4. The typed lyrics, including handwritten annotations, were of the original 1962 "Talkin Folklore Center," which was expected to fetch $40,000 to $60,000, while Dylan's "Go Away You Bomb" lyrics from 1963 were estimated to bring $30,000 to $50,000. The consignor has yet to announce what he now plans to do with the lyrics. - AP, 12/4/14...... 
Elton John took an 
Soul great Al Green and former Police frontman Sting were among the five honorees at the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7. Pres. Barack Obama saluted the honorees, which also included actors Tom Hanks and Lily Tomlin prima ballerina Patricia McBride, at the gala which was hosted by Stephen Colbert. The event was taped and will be broadcast Dec. 30 on CBS. The Kennedy Center Honors are the nation's highest award for influencing American culture through the arts. - AP, 12/7/14...... Queen guitarist Brian May, also a noted astrophysicist, has joined a group of astronomers, scientists and other artists to raise awareness about the threat of asteroids on our planet. The group warned during a news conference on Dec. 3 that Earth is headed for destruction if global action isn't taken. May and the other members of the group, which also includes former astronaut Ed Lu, ethologist Richard Dawkins and Bill Nye (the science guy), called for the creation of a massive asteroid detection system to "solve humanity's greatest challenges to safeguard our families and quality of life on Earth in the future." The group also advocated the adoption of an Asteroid Day to commence on June 30, 2015. The date is a reference to Earth's last major asteroid impact, which flattened 800 square miles near Tunguska, Siberia on June 30, 1908. "The more we learn about asteroid impacts, the clearer it becomes that the human race has been living on borrowed time," Dr. May said during a news conference held via satellite in London and Los Angeles. "We are currently aware of less than one percent of objects comparable to the one that impacted at Tunguska, and nobody knows when the next big one will hit. It takes just one." "If [Tunguska] had taken place 6 1/2 hours later, Berlin would have rotated into the object's path, and that would have utterly changed the course of human civilization," said Nye. - Billboard/The London Telegraph, 12/5/14...... Geoffrey "Jake" Commander, a veteran rock guitarist with ties to Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra, was sentenced to ten days in jail on Dec. 5 at U.S. District Court in Virginia for participating in an attack carried out by the Internet hacker group Anonymous on MasterCard's website. Commander was reportedly at his home in New Hampshire on Dec. 10, 2010, when he entered an Anonymous chat room. In what he told the court was a "protest" against banks which had "brought the country to its knees," Commander found himself joining a thousand others in flooding the credit card company's site with traffic, resulting in a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS). Commander said he later regretted his "impulsive, spurious and foolish" decision to click on the links, which cost MasterCard over $1 million. The MasterCard attack was part of a larger, months-spanning action by Anonymous called "Operation Payback." His attorney said about 2,000 people took part in the operation. He was one of only 13 people charged. At sentencing, Commander said he was "mortified to have upset the government of this country, which has been my host for many years." His lawyer said that upon his release in mid-December, he will leave the country and never return. Commander replaced Jeff Lynne as guitarist in the rock legend's early band, Andicaps, and later became a tech roadie and occasional background vocalist on several ELO tours. He also sang a bit on Lynne's 1990 solo album Armchair Theatre. - Billboard, 12/8/14...... 
Former Genesis member Phil Collins was forced to cancel a charity performance at the Fillmore in Miami on Dec. 6 after coming down with an illness. The planned three or four-song set would have been Collins's first solo performance in several years, after he announced his retirement in 2011 to focus on being a father. The show was scheduled at the Fillmore Miami Beach to benefit his Little Dreams Foundation, presented by Collins' ex-wife Orianne Collins Mejjati and music technologist David Frangioni. Collins was on hand to break the bad news to his fundraiser audience, telling them that he had been overcome by a neurological affliction that affects him occasionally. He said he'd been working with doctors over the past two days and that sound checks had gone poorly, apologizing and thanking those in attendance. "Trust me, you wouldn't enjoy it," he said when he was encouraged to sing anyway. - Billboard, 12/7/14...... Songwriter/producer/publisher Bob Montgomery, who masterminded recording sessions for such country music icons as Mel Tillis, Marty Robbins, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and B.J. Thomas, among many others, died on Dec. 4 at his home in Kansas City, Mo., following a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. He was 77. Born May 12, 1937, in Lampasas, Tex., Montgomery met Buddy Holly when they were both in junior high school in Lubbock. Soon after, the two young enthusiasts formed their own band, Buddy and Bob. With Holly, Montgomery co-wrote the songs "Wishing," "Heartbeat" and "Love's Made a Fool of You." They also recorded a few songs together. In the early 1960s, Montgomery formed the House of Gold music publishing company with Bobby Goldsboro. He went on to produce Goldsboro's worldwide hit, "Honey," which topped the pop, country and adult contemporary charts for weeks in 1968. They sold their publishing company to Warner Bros in 1983. House of Gold also published such high-profile hits as Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors" and Gary Morris' "Wind Beneath My Wings." After selling House of Gold, Montgomery worked with Tree Music and from there moved on to manage A&R for CBS Records, where he signed such future chart-topping acts as Joe Diffie, Doug Stone and Collin Raye.