As expected, Ringo Starr was among those awarded knighthoods by the British royal family when the Queen's New Year honors list was announced on Dec. 29. Starr's knighthood comes more than half a century after he received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) at the height of the Beatles' fame. In a statement, Ringo said it was "an honor and a pleasure to be considered and acknowledged for my music and my charity work, both of which I love. Peace and love. Ringo." John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono also tweeted out her kind thoughts to Ringo on Jan. 2. "Dear Sir Ringo," Ono wrote. "I am very happy that you have received this honour from the Queen. It's about time! Huge congratulations! I am delighted for you and your family. It is an honour for everyone in the Beatles family and I love you very much." 
Also set to be knighted during the formal New Year's Honors ceremony in 2018 are Bee Gees founding member Barry Gibb, Soft Cell vocalist Marc Almond, rapper/producer Wiley, and British actor/writer/musician Hugh Laurie, are all set to be knighted during the formal New Year's Honors ceremony in 2018. Gibb, who is being honored not only for his services to music but to charity as well, told the AP that being awarded a knighthood was "a moment in life to be treasured and never forgotten" and that he is "deeply honored, humbled and very proud." Gibb went on to pay tribute to his brothers and Bee Gees co-founders, Maurice and Robin Gibb, who died in 2003 and 2012, respectively. "I want to acknowledge how responsible my brothers are for this honour," said the 71-year-old Gibb. "It is as much theirs as it is mine. The magic, the glow and the rush will last me the rest of my life." The Gibb brothers were named Commanders of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002. - Billboard, 12/29/17...... In an interview with a podcast called "Life In The Stocks," Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott said he was uncomfortable with the way AC/DC so quickly replaced frontman Brian Johnson with Axl Rose of Guns 'N Roses in 2017 and said his band wouldn't have dealt with AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, who was forced to go on hiatus from the band due to hearing problems, that way. "I wouldn't have done it like that," Elliott said. "I can't speak for [AC/DC guitarist] Angus [Young] and his team as to what their reasons were for doing what they did. But considering that we had a drummer lose and arm and we waited for him, the way that they dealt with it was not the way I would have done it, put it that way." Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen joined the band in 1979 when he was just 15, but lost his arm in car accident on New Year's Eve five years later. Def Leppard didn't replace him, but instead waited till he had re-learned how to play on an adapted kit, and he has continued to tour and record with the band to this day. While Elliott said that he thought Axl Rose "did a pretty good job, actually" filling in for Johnson, he added that the last touring lineup of AC/DC wasn't "really AC/DC anymore," calling it "basically just Angus and the other four now." Guitarist and founding AC/DC member Malcolm Young left the band in 2014 and passed away earlier this year, prompting an outpouring of tributes from across the world of music. - New Musical Express, 12/31/17...... 
David Bowie's son Duncan Jones has just launched an informal "David Bowie Book Club," after the late rock icon released a list of his 100 favorite books back in 2013. Jones took to Twitter to launch the book club, describing his late dad as "a beast of the reader." Jones selected Hawksmoor, an award-winning 1985 novel by Peter Aykroyd about a 1980s detective who investigates murders committed in London churches in the 18th century, as the first book. Fans wishing to join the book club (and presumably discuss each book with Jones on Twitter) have until Feb. 1 to complete Aykroyd's novel. "Hawksmoor is in DAVID BOWIE'S TOP 100 BOOKS list, indeed it's one of the books we illustrated in our montage back in 2013," Jones tweeted. "It's also a work we've loved for a long time here at DBHQ, since David first recommended it many years ago. Go here (https://t.co/wNp8N91EsD) for the synopsis of this gripping and terrible tale of two Londons separated by two and a half centuries. #BowieBookClub #ReadingIsBrainFood" In other Bowie-related news, a new BBC radio drama called The Final Take: Bowie In the Studio is to dramatise the making of Bowie's final studio album, Blackstar. It will feature dialogue constructed from Bowie's own words -- which have been taken from the hundreds of interviews he gave during his life -- and will air on the BBC World Service at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 9. - NME, 12/29/17...... Actress Rose Marie, best known as wisecracking co-star Sally Rogers on the 1960s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, passed away on Dec. 28 at her home in Van Nuys, Calif. She was 94. The comedienne-vocalist, identifiable by the black bow in her hair and her raspy voice, also co-headlined on the opening night of Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas in 1946 and was a regular on the game show The Hollywood Squares. Along with Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam and, occasionally, Carl Reiner (the series' creator), she appeared in all five seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show and received Emmy nominations in 1963, 1964 and 1966. 
Ms. Marie had known Amsterdam in real life since she was 11, and her verbal jousts with him were among the show's highlights. She was hired or the sitcom -- the second person cast after Van Dyke himself -- for $1,000 an episode by executive producer Sheldon Leonard, who had played her brother on the radio on The Phil Harris Show. Ms. Marie had cultivated her persona as a husband-hunter in a number of comic guest appearances on the shows of such luminaries as Jimmy Durante, Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton, Garry Moore, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dinah Shore, Dean Martin, Merv Griffin and, frequently with Johnny Carson, on The Tonight Show. She also played secretary Myrna Gibbons, who worked with Doris Day's character in a magazine office, on the CBS sitcom The Doris Day Show, and her other TV credits include S.W.A.T., Murphy Brown and Hardball. She also was a 14-year participant on The Hollywood Squares, where her comic cackle delighted audiences, and she appeared in such films as Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966), Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title (1966) and Lunch Wagon (1981). Born Marie Mazetta in New York on Aug. 15, 1923, Ms. Marie's name was inspired by the popular Broadway musical "Rose-Marie." She entered show business as a 3-year-old toddler when she appeared at New York's Mecca Theater and belted out a torch ballad. Beginning in the '40s, she performed in nightclubs and theaters, and during the 1950s and '60s, she garnered guest-star roles on TV in such shows as The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Gunsmoke, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Monkees and My Three Sons. Ms. Marie was married to Bobby Guy, at one time the lead trumpeter for the NBC Orchestra, which performed nightly on The Tonight Show. He died in 1964 of a blood infection. The couple had one daughter, Georgiana, who survives her. She was also active in many charitable causes throughout her life, most notable animal welfare. - The Hollywood Reporter, 12/28/17.
The Beatles' new holiday collection The Christmas Records has debuted on Billboard's Hot 200 albums chart at No. 199. With 7,000 units (all from traditional album sales) sold, the archival box has reproductions of the seven flexi-disc vinyl singles the band sent to its fan club members each Christmas between 1963 and 1969. It has a total combined running time of about 44 minutes and features a smattering of music from the band (including the original tune "Christmas Time [Is Here Again]"), comedic skits, and messages from the group. The Christmas Records also debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's Vinyl Albums chart and, due to the nature of the box's contents, at No. 38 on the Holiday Albums roundup. - Billboard, 12/27/17...... 
Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, a source close to Ringo Starr has told Britain's The Sun paper that the former Beatles legend will be made a knight when Queen Elizabeth II announces her New Year's Honours list on New Year's Eve. Starr is expected to be honoured for his contributions to music and charity, and if the reports are true, it will be his first time back to London's Buckingham Palace 52 years ago when he became a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1965 during the Beatles' heyday. Ringo's sole surviving Beatles bandmate Sir Paul McCartney, who was knighted in 1997, reportedly once told the Queen: "Look, love it's about time." Ringo, 77, had reportedly given up all hope of being knighted before a letter arrived from the Palace a few weeks ago. "He'll feel 10 feet tall when he goes back," the source told The Sun. "Sadly, two of the Beatles, John Lennon and George Harrison, are no longer here to be honoured in a similar way. But giving Ringo a knighthood will go some way towards recognising the enormous contribution the Beatles made to popular music. He is a beacon of Beatlemania," the source added. "It came as a bolt from the blue," the family friend told the publication. "Ringo was totally knocked sideways but is chuffed to bits (very proud)." Although Starr is being bestowed with one of Britain's highest honours, he sold his 200-acre estate in Cranleigh, Surrey, for a reputed £20 million in 2014, and now divides his time between his homes in Switzerland and California. - PageSix.com/WENN.com, 12/26/17...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney's One on One Tour has hit the top slot in Billboard's Hot Tours roundup for the week ending Dec. 26. With $67 million in sold ticket revenue from 15 performances added to the concerts that were already reported earlier in the year, the tour's overall gross in 2017 rises to $132 million. Macca's One on One trek included a total of 37 concerts from April through December with the number of sold tickets totaling 907,610 during the eight-month span. The tour covered four continents in 2017 beginning with a string of four concerts at two venues in Japan from Apr. 25 through 30. This past summer the tour was booked at arenas in twelve North American markets including eight shows in the metropolitan New York City area that drew over 113,000 fans to four venues. In October, the tour played stadium dates in five Latin American cities, four of them in Brazil. The final leg of the tour was a sweep through Australia and New Zealand, in which all were stadium dates except Sydney's two arena shows. Queen + Adam Lambert made the second spot in the final 2017 Hot Tours roundup, with $3,572,980 in sold ticket revenue from two concerts at London's O2 Arena on Dec. 12 and 13. - Billboard, 12/27/17...... 
Stevie Wonder was among the music icons paying tribute to former Commodores member and '80s solo superstar Lionel Richie during the 40th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 26. Wonder covered Richie's Commodores-era classic "Easy," while country singer Luke Bryan sang "Penny Lover" and "Sail On," and pop sensation Leona Lewis performed a medley of Richie's solo chart toppers "Say You Say Me" and "All Night Long (All Night)." The recently retired Kenny Rogers, who scored a No. 1 pop hit in 1980 with the Richie-penned "Lady," also honored the singer/songwriter with an emotional speech about his career. The event was broadcast live on the CBS Television Network. - Billboard, 12/27/17...... The latest Star Wars soundtrack, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, has risen to No. 5 on the same chart in its initial week of release. With 44,000 units (41,000 in traditional album sales) sold, the soundtrack has become the latest in the string of companion albums in the Star Wars saga to at least reach the top 20 in the tally. None of main eight Star Wars soundtracks have reached the top spot, with the closest being the original Star Wars LP which spent three consecutive weeks at No. 2 in 1977; it was stuck behind Fleetwood Mac's Rumours juggernaut which ruled the list for 31 nonconsecutive weeks. - Billboard, 12/27/17...... English musician Denny Laine, one of the co-founders of the Moody Blues in 1964 before becoming a member of Paul McCartney's Wings in the 1970s, says he's "very pleased" his former band will be added to the roster for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Laine, who wasn't initially added to the roster of Moody Blues members who will be honored during the Apr. 14 ceremony in Cleveland, Oh., was later added to the list thanks to lobbying by Rock Hall voting committee members, including E Street Band member Little Steven Van Zandt, producer Peter Asher and Cousin Brucie Morrow. Van Zandt tweeted Dec. 16 that Laine's "inadvertent ommission is being corrected on the Rock Hall website as we speak." Laine says Asher told him that "he wouldn't even vote for the Moody Blues unless I was in it." 
"That was kind of the most rewarding part of the thing, I think: I had friends from the top who pushed for me to get back in," Laine notes. Moodys member Mike Pinder, according to Laine, recruited him away from his own band in Birmingham, though the other Moodys were not as interested in Laine's push to move to London to be closer to the British music industry of the mid-'60s. "But if it hadn't been for Mike and Ray (Thomas) talking me into getting into their band, I could've been stuck in Birmingham and not done anything, so I'm grateful for that," Laine says. As for McCartney's Wings eventually being inducted into the Rock Hall, Laine says he doesn't anticipate that. "It was not a band, really. It was Paul McCartney and a backing band -- that's the truth of the matter," Laine says. "We weren't a band like the Beatles, the (Rolling) Stones, the Moody Blues. So I wouldn't see Wings as a band that would go into the Hall of Fame, to be honest." These days, Laine resides in New Jersey and tours as a solo act, playing songs from his entire past live as well as recording. He recently released the single "Meant to Be"/"Over the Horizon," and says he has a new album in the can as well. "I'm not just living in the past," he says. "Tribute bands have kind of taken over the market, and I don't want to come across as being that. - Billboard, 12/23/17...... Canadian actress Heather Menzies-Urich, who played one of the singing von Trapp children in the hit 1965 film The Sound of Music, died on Dec. 24 in Frankford, Ont., after a battle with brain cancer. She was 68. Menzies-Urich played Louisa von Trapp, the third-oldest of the seven von Trapp children, in the film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that starred Julie Andrews and Canadian actor Christopher Plummer. The movie musical went on to capture five Academy Awards, including best picture. Menzies-Urich was the wife of late actor Robert Urich, and their son, actor Ryan Urich, said his mother "was an actress, a ballerina and loved living her life to the fullest." A Toronto native, Menzies-Urich's other film credits include Hawaii and Piranha. On television, she appeared as a fugitive in Logan's Run and had guest spots on Dragnet, Bonanza and Marcus Welby, M.D., among other series. After Robert Urich died in 2002, Menzies-Urich established the Robert Urich Foundation to raise funds for cancer research. - WENN.com, 12/25/17...... Film and TV composer Dominic Frontiere, known for such classic TV themes as The Outer Limits, The Flying Nun, The Rat Patrol, That Girl, 12 O'Clock High, Branded and Vega$, died on Dec. 21 in Tesuque, N.M. He was 86. Mr. Frontiere was a fixture on the film- and TV-music scene throughout the 1960s, '70s and '80s, composing hundreds of hours of music, mostly for TV but also for films including Hang 'Em High, Cancel My Reservation, Hammersmith Is Out, Freebie and the Bean, The Aviator, and three John Wayne films, Chisum, The Train Robbers and Brannigan. He won a Golden Globe award for his score for The Stunt Man in 1980, and an Emmy as musical director of "Swing Out, Sweet Land," a patriotic TV special hosted by Wayne in 1970. Frontiere's career was temporarily derailed in 1986 when he was sentenced to a year in federal prison for filing a false income tax return and lying to IRS investigators to conceal his role in scalping tickets to the 1980 Super Bowl. At the time, his wife Georgia Frontiere was owner of the Los Angeles Rams. He moved to New Mexico in the 1990s and continued to work in the electronic-music medium. Survivors include his current wife Robin, and five children. - Variety, 12/23/17.
On Dec. 7, Def Leppard and Journey took to 
Rush bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee has released two new songs which were recorded during the sessions of his 2000 solo album, My Favourite Headache. Lee released the recordings on Dec. 5 through Elektra Records under the title The Lost Demos, and the tracks -- "Gone" and "I Am You Are" -- grant fans a deeper look into the writing sessions of Lee's only solo album so far. "I loved the songs when they were written and in some ways they feel as fresh and perhaps more relevant all these years later," said Lee in a press release about the new tracks, which were given fresh mixes by Rush's longtime producer and engineer, David Bottrill. 
During the encore of their last ever show on Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, KISS made a surprise announcement that the band will live on as digital avatars. "KISS Army, your love, your power, has made us immortal!," vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley said in a video revealing the digital characters as the virtual band launched into a performance of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You." "The new KISS era stars now!" After the concert, part of the KISS' "End of the Road" farewell tour, the quartet shared a two-minute video on 
English rock musician Denny Laine, a co-founding former member of The Moody Blues and a member of the Paul McCartney-led '70s band Wings, died on Dec. 5 of a bacterial infection that followed a serious bout of Covid-19. He was 79. Laine's wife Elizabeth Hines posted the announcement on 
Norman Lear, the legendary TV writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with such shows as 
In other Beatles-related news, a new documentary series about the Dec. 8, 1980 assassination of John Lennon has a claim that Lennon's murderer Mark David Chapman apologized to his group after shooting Lennon dead outside of his New York City apartment block. According to a witness interviewed for the Apple TV+ docuseries, which begins streaming on Dec. 6, Chapman "actually apologized to us... He said: 'Gee I'm sorry I ruined your night'." The witness responded: "You gotta be kidding me, you just ruined your whole life." First announced in October, John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial examines the pre-meditated crime by the troubled Chapman and its aftermath, and its producers were "granted extensive Freedom of Information Act requests from the New York City Police Department, the Board of Parole and the District Attorney's office." It also features interviews with Lennon's friends and Chapman's defense lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors. It also makes use of previously unseen photos from the scene of the crime. The three-part series is narrated by actor Kiefer Sutherland. Its trailer has been shared on 
The Rolling Stones announced on 
In a testament to the enduring popularity of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop's 1983 hit "Beat It" is the latest music video to reach one billion views on YouTube. The streaming giant announced on Nov. 29 that "Beat It" is Jackson's third music video to enter the Billion Views Club, following the Moonwalk-featuring "Billie Jean" and 1996's "They Don't Care About Us." For the period of Nov. 17-23, MJ ranked at #58 on YouTube's U.S. Top Artists chart and at #96 on their Global Top Artists chart. Nearly 15 years removed from his tragic passing, Jackson continues to earn new chart achievements off the strength of his timeless catalog. Earlier in November, Jackson's accidental Halloween anthem "Thriller" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 21, marking the sixth consecutive year that the song has reappeared on Billboard's marquee singles chart. During its original chart run, the track reached No. 4. - Billboard, 11/29/23...... Mick Fleetwood has paid tribute to his late Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie on the one year anniversary of her death, while the Irish family band The Corrs have covered McVie's composition "Songbird" in her memory. In a post on 
A judge overseeing the estate of Aretha Franklin has awarded real estate to the late Queen of Soul's sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions. The decision on Nov. 27 came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite scribbles and many hard-to-read passages. Franklin had signed it and put a smiley face in the letter "A." The papers will override a handwritten will from 2010 that was found at Franklin's suburban Detroit home around the same time in 2019, the judge said. One of her sons, Kecalf Franklin, will get that property, which was valued at $1.1 million in 2018, but is now worth more. A lawyer described it as the "crown jewel" before trial last July. Another son, Ted White II, who had favored the 2010 will, was given a house in Detroit, though it was sold by the estate for $300,000 before the dueling wills had emerged. "Teddy is requesting the sale proceeds," Charles McKelvie, an attorney for Kecalf Franklin, said on Nov. 28. Judge Jennifer Callaghan awarded a third son, Edward Franklin, another property under the 2014 will. Franklin had four homes when she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. The discovery of the two handwritten wills months after her death led to a dispute between the sons over what their mother wanted to do with her real estate and other assets. One of the properties, worth more than $1 million, will likely be sold and the proceeds shared by four sons. The judge said the 2014 will didn't clearly state who should get it. "This was a significant step forward. We've narrowed the remaining issues," McKelvie said of the estate saga. There's still a dispute over how to handle Aretha Franklin's music assets, though the will appears to indicate that the sons would share any income. A status conference with the judge is set for January. - Billboard, 11/28/23...... Despite being often compared, Van Morrison has insisted that he and Bob Dylan are "worlds apart" in a new interview with Vintage Rock magazine. Morrison, 78, insists what they do because the 82-year-old Dylan is a "songwriter who sings" and he is a singer first. "Well, I'm just nothing like Bob Dylan, so I guess what I was trying to say was, like, I'm coming from the place that I'm a singer first. I'm a singer. Right? And I write songs. So Bob Dylan and I are, like, worlds apart. What he does and what I do, you know, it's nowhere near." He continued: "I am a singer who writes songs, so I was comparing myself more to the singer who writes songs, rather than a songwriter who sings." Morrison's latest project is the covers album Accentuate the Positive, and he insists he is only motivated to do things that inspire him, not what other people want him to do. I can do it, you know?" - Music-News.com, 12/1/23...... What is being touted as the "Holy Grail" of Elvis Presley jewelry -- the King of Rock & Roll's iconic and famous "Lion Claw" necklace -- is being auctioned on the 
Henry Kissinger, a diplomatic powerhouse of the second half of the twentieth century whose roles as a national security adviser and secretary of state under two presidents left an indelible mark on U.S. foreign policy and earned him a controversial Nobel Peace Prize, died on Nov. 29 at age 100. During the 1970s in the midst of the Cold War, Mr. Kissinger had a hand in many of the epoch-changing global events of the decade while serving as national security adviser and secretary of state under Republican Pres. Richard Nixon. The German-born Jewish refugee's efforts led to the U.S. diplomatic opening with China, landmark U.S.-Soviet arms control talks, expanded ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam. Mr. Kissinger's reign as the prime architect of U.S. foreign policy waned with Nixon's resignation in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal. Still, he continued to be a diplomatic force as secretary of state under Nixon's successor, Pres. Gerald Ford, and to offer strong opinions throughout the rest of his life. While many hailed Mr. Kissinger for his brilliance and broad experience, others branded him a war criminal for his support for anti-communist dictatorships, especially in Latin America. In his latter years, his travels were circumscribed by efforts by other nations to arrest or question him about past U.S. foreign policy. Mr. Kissinger had been active past his centenary, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. In July 2023 he made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping. Mr. Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, according to a statement from his geopolitical consulting firm, Kissinger Associates Inc. No mention was made of the circumstances. It said he would be interred at a private family service, to be followed at a later date by a public memorial service in New York City. - Reuters, 11/30/23.
Speaking of Bruce Springsteen, the Boss got to know some local Irish as he and his E Street Band hit the Emerald Isle for three sold-out shows at Dublin's RDS Arena on May 5, 7 and 9. Springsteen visited The Burrow pub in Rathangan, Co. Kildare, on May 4 and had a pint with with some townspeople, even treating them to an a cappella first verse of his 1985 Born in the U.S.A. single "My Hometown." He then looked at the fans gathered in his family's ancestral home and led them in the chorus of, "this is your hometown," telling them afterwards, "you guys, I'm firing the E Street Band and I'm hiring you." Fan shot footage has been shared on 
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame revealed the inductees for its Class of 2023. Art rock cult fave Kate Bush, rootsy yet polished hitmaker Sheryl Crow, hip-hop mastermind Missy Elliott, blue-eyed pop/soul king George Michael, outlaw country legend Willie Nelson, rap-rock firebrands Rage Against the Machine, and long-running '70s vocal group The Spinners were all inducted into the performer category. The "Musical Influence Award" was given to Bronx-based DJ DJ Kool Herc and distortion guitar rock rebel Link Wray, while the "Musical Excellence Award" was given to frequent RRHOF nominee and funk queen Chaka Khan, veteran rock player/producer Al Kooper, and Elton John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin. Finally, Don Cornelius -- who hosted the R&B and Black culture bedrock Soul Train on TV from 1970-1993 -- is inducted with the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Crow, Elliott, Michael and Nelson gained entrance on their first nomination. Among those nominated but passed over for 2023 are Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon. To be eligible for the Rock Hall, an artist's first commercial release must have come out at least 25 years prior to the nomination year. The RRHOF induction ceremony will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Nov. 3. - Billboard, 5/3/23...... Reacting to his RRHOF induction, Bernie Taupin says a magnanimous gesture from his songwriting partner Elton John could have been the reason why he wasn't inducted into the Cleveland-based hall and museum until now. "That's the big thorn in the paw because in a lot of people's minds, that's the reason I was not inducted before now, because certain elements of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame didn't like the fact Elton brought me up on stage... and gave me his award," says Taupin of John's RRHOF induction way back in 1994. Taupin adds he had the trophy "for years" before returning it to John. "So they just assumed that I already had the award so I didn't need to be inducted myself, which is pretty puerile, if you think about it, and pretty childish and churlish at the same time. But, hey, that's all in the past. What's gone is gone and it's all forgotten now and God's in his heaven and all is good." Taupin's induction will come after the September publication of his memoir Scattershot. He spent two years working on it -- including editing it from an 800-page draft to "just under" 400 pages -- and he's recently received the initial galleys for it. "I think people will be surprised by it," he says. "It's not a conventional rock slog biography It's not an A-to-Z life story. It's non-linear. It's more vignettes of my life... I'm not comparing it to Dylan's Chronicles, but it has the same sort of free-form feel to it. I couldn't be tethered to any restrictive autobiographical code. I just had to write it as I felt it. It's pretty exciting, I have to say. I never pat myself on the back about things. I'm my own worst critic. But I'm absolutely thrilled with it. It's probably the best thing I've ever done in my life. It's incredibly satisfying, and... I'm looking forward to having it out." - Billboard, 5/4/23...... On May 4 KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley walked back his recent comments about gender-affirming care for minors. In his original statement on Twitter on May 1, Stanley forwarded misinformation about gender-affirming care for youths, saying that "irreversible" procedures shouldn't be performed on children (despite the facts saying that the vast majority of this kind of care is reversible and often medically necessary for trans kids). "There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification," he wrote. But in his 
Beatles legend Paul McCartney famously once said that the Beach Boys' 1966 track "God Only Knows" was his favorite song of all time. Now a new AI-generated mashup of the Beatles covering the iconic Pet Sounds album track has appeared online, and shared on 
As Paul McCartney and Wings' classic 1973 set 
British singer Linda Lewis, who enjoyed hits in the 1970s with "It's In His Kiss" and others, and was the envy of fellow singers due to her five-octave range, died on May 3. She was 72. "It is with the greatest sadness and regret we share the news that our beloved beautiful sister Linda Lewis passed away today peacefully at her home," her sister, Dee Lewis Clay, posted on social media. "The family asks that you respect our privacy and allow us to grieve at this heartbreaking time." Born Linda Ann Fredericks in West Ham, London, Lewis attended stage school, and landed film roles, including a part as a screaming fan in the Beatles film, A Hard Day's Night. Later, fans would scream for Lewis, as she reeled off U.K. hits through the 1970s with "Rock-A-Doodle-Doo," "It's In His Kiss," "Baby I'm Yours" and "I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You." Written and composed by Rudy Clark, "It's In His Kiss" would give Lewis a U.K. top 10 appearance, peaking at No. 6 in 1975, and a spot on the Billboard Hot 100, at No. 96. Her extraordinary vocal range, and her gifts across folk, soul, pop and reggae, would catch the attention of rock music's superstars, including David Bowie and Rod Stewart, both of whom recruited her for backing vocals. She would also work with the likes Joan Armatrading, Basement Jaxx, Turin Brakes and Jamiroquai. Across her career, Lewis cut ten studio albums, including Say No More, her 1971 debut, which was inspired by living with fellow artists in a commune in Hampstead, north London, a place where Cat Stevens, Marc Bolan and Elton John would drop by. In 2002, Warner Music released a collection of her '70s music, Reach for the Truth. The following year, BMG issued a career retrospective The Best of Linda Lewis, and later, the 3-CD boxed set Legends, including hits and rarities. In 2017, to celebrate her 50th anniversary in the music business, Lewis released Funky Bubbles, a 5-CD box set including rarities and live versions. She was mourned on social media by Armatrading, Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, and The Waterboys frontman Mike Scott. - Billboard, 5/4/23.
Legendary Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, the composer and performer of such enduring songs as "If You Could Read My Mind," 
The success of his 1970 hit "If You Could Read My Mind" from the 
He was back in the news in 1986 when he noticed that Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All" was melodically very similar to "If You Could Read My Mind." He initiated a plagiarism lawsuit against Houston's producer, but dropped it three weeks later after he saw how it was negatively affecting Houston. In 2002, Mr. Lightfoot suffered an abdominal aortic aneurysm and spent six weeks in a coma. He eventually recovered after four surgeries. "I was ashamed at the amount of blood they went through," he told Rolling Stone. "It would have been better off if I had died. I think it was 28 units." Doctors performed a tracheotomy on him during his hospital stay, causing vocal cord damage that greatly weakened his singing voice, but he was back onstage by 2004. "I wanted to recover, I wanted to sing again," he later told the Springfield, Ill. State Journal-Register. "I wasn't sure -- they had to take a lot of muscles out of my stomach and I wasn't sure if I would have the kind of breathing control that I would need. But gradually it worked back and I started practicing." In 2019, Mr. Lightfoot was the subject of the documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. Around that time, he celebrated his 80th birthday with an extensive tour that wrapped up in Oct. 2022 at the Club Regent Casino in Winnipeg. He was due to return to the road in April, but canceled at the last minute due to unspecified health problems. "We thank you for respecting his privacy," his team wrote in a statement. "He continues to focus on his recovery." - Rolling Stone, 5/1/23.