Posted by Administrator on September 26th, 2014
Led Zeppelin fans continue to clamor for a reunion after the band's one-off show in London a few years ago, but it's easy to understand Robert Plant's resistance. Reinventing himself on his 2007 Alison Krauss collab, Raising Sand, and on projects with ex-girlfriend Patty Griffin, the singer made some of his best work ever. His latest, Lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar, returns to the world-music fusion of 2005's Mighty Rearranger with his Strange Sensation band (now reconfigured as the Sensational Space Shifters). It lacks the focused grace of his country experiements, but it's Plant's hardest-rocking set in a decade, and as he comes home to something like progressive rock it's hard not to think of his other band. Keep hope alive, Zep fans. Lullaby dropped via Nonesuch Records on Sept. 9...... 
Spain's film academy has selected the movie Vivir es Facil con los Ojos Cerrados [Living Is Easy (With Eyes Closed)], about a Spanish man's quest to meet John Lennon, as its entry for best foreign language film at the 2015 Oscars. Directed by David Trueba, the film tells the true story of an English-language teacher from Spain who traveled to the southern province of Almeria in 1966 to try to meet the late Beatles star, who was staying there. The movie takes its name from the lyrics of the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever," which Lennon began writing in Almeria. The U.S. film academy will select finalists for the Oscars in January, with the awards announced a month later. Spain has won four Oscars for best foreign language film. In other Beatles-related news, Paul Simon performed the George Harrison-penned Beatles tune "Here Comes the Sun" on Sept. 23 as part of "George Harrison Week" on the TBS late night talk show Conan. Simon is no stranger to performing the hit, having sung the 1969 classic at various festivals and concerts over the years, most notably on Saturday Night Live in 1976, joined by Harrison himself. Meanwhile, a portion of the famous Ed Sullivan Show set displayed during the Beatles' US television debut is expected to command as much as $337,000 when it goes up for auction during the The Fest for Beatles Fans, which takes place in Los Angeles from Oct. 10-12. The set is signed by all four Beatles and is currently owned by Wayne Johnson, owner of Rockaway Records. Among the other items up for purchase includes a copy of the band's 11th US release Yesterday and Today featuring the rare "Butcher" cover, which is priced at $4,500, and the band's first US contract with Vee Jay Records, on sale for $100,000. The Fest for Beatles Fans was started in 1974 to mark the 10th anniversary of the band's first visit to the US. In its history, the event has accepted donated musical instruments from all four Beatles, which have been auctioned for charity. Earlier in September, a sculpture of Eleanor Rigby made of 1 million pounds' worth of used UK bank notes went on display in Liverpool. Created by Leonard Brown, the five foot two inch statue is made of thousands of shredded 5, 10 and 20 pound notes, which were supplied by the Bank Of England in the form of pellets. - AP/Billboard/New Musical Express, 9/24/14...... 
Kiss member Gene Simmons has reportedly been banned from the Fox News Channel for life after exposing his belly and attacking staff with a copy of his new book, 
Fleetwood Mac announced on Nov. 15 that they will reissue their 
Jeff Lynne has announced his latest incarnation of Electric Light Orchestra will embark on its first U.S. tour in over 35 years on Aug. 2, 2018 at Oakland, California's Oracle Arena. The tour will then zig-zag across North America, playing Los Angeles (8/4), Denver (8/8), Houston (8/10), Dallas (8/13), Rosemont, Ill. (8/15), Detroit (8/16), Toronto (8/18) and New York's Madison Square Garden (8/21) before wrapping at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center on Aug. 24. The tour comes days before the arrival of ELO's new 
Queen guitarist Brian May took to Instagram on Nov. 13 to voice his displeasure at a photographer named Barbara Kremer who reported one of his photos for copyright violation. May posted a screenshot of the notification he received, after a user reported one of his photos when he forgot to credit them -- which resulted in his account being suspended. And he wasn't afraid to name and shame. "Well this is what I woke up to," he wrote. "How RUDE! I'm usually very careful to credit anyone whose photos I post -- but in this case, at the end of the day, I must have forgotten. (Barbara Kremer) reported me to Instagram and they not only took the picture down but disabled my whole account until I'd dealt with the issue -- which took about 45 minutes of my time that I could not afford because the link refused to work on my phone." May then made it very clear that Barbara was not welcome at any future gigs: "If I ever discover that you are at one of our concerts in future, look out, because, logically, I will be tempted to have you thrown out." Several Queen fans flocked to support May, with one user commenting: "Please don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch, as Michael Jackson used to sing." However, another user jumped in to suggest that naming her was unfair: "Yes, poor judgement from her side. But I think you should know better than to hang and shame a regular woman, way below you in society, possibly exposing her for harassment or even death threats." - NME, 11/13/17...... Former The Carol Burnett Show cast member Vicki Lawrence will star in a new sitcom pilot for Fox with a "retirement home" theme called Cool Kids. Lawrence will join David Alan Grier (The Carmichael Show), Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace) and Roseanne alum Martin Mull in the sitcom, from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia masterminds Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton. - Deadline.com, 11/16/17...... Veteran gossip columnist Liz Smith, known as the "Dame of Dish," died in New York on Nov. 12 of natural causes. She was 94. Ms. Smith chronicled the gossip among New York City's rich and scandalous for 60 years and played a key role in the high-profile divorce between Donald and Ivana Trump. For more than a quarter-century, her Daily News column -- titled "Liz Smith" -- was one of the most widely read in the world. Its success was due in part to Smith's own celebrity status, giving her insider access. However unlike some of her rivals, including Walter Winchell, Ms. Smith succeeded with kindness and an aversion to cheap shots. Whether reporting on entertainers, politicians or power brokers, the "Dame of Dish" never bothered with unfounded rumors, sexual preferences or who's-sleeping-with-whom. Ms. Smith later worked in television at WNBC-TV for three nights a week commentary, then jumped to Fox, and she later did work for the cable channel E! Entertainment Television. During that time, she migrated from the Daily News to the rival New York Post and finally to Newsday, ultimately earning salaries well into six figures. Her column was syndicated nationwide, drawing millions of readers. - CBS News, 11/12/17...... 
Malcolm Young, guitarist and co-founder of legendary Australian rock band AC/DC, died on Nov. 18 after a three-year battle with dementia. He was 64. Young founded AC/DC alongside his brother, Angus Young, in 1973, ten years after the brothers relocated to Sydney, Australia from Glasgow, Scotland. He and Angus had been credited as co-writers on every AC/DC song beginning with debut High Voltage in 1975 through 2014's Rock or Bust. Malcolm last performed with AC/DC in 2010 following the band's tour in support of 2008's Black Ice album, officially retiring from the group in 2014. Malcolm is said to have died peacefully alongside his family, and is survived by his wife, O'Linda, and two children. AC/DC confirmed the news on its website, posting that "it is with deep heartfelt sadness that AC/DC has to announce the passing of Malcolm Young... With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band. As a guitarist, songwriter and visionary he was a perfectionist and a unique man. He always stuck to his guns and did and said exactly what he wanted. He took great pride in all that he endeavored. His loyalty to the fans was unsurpassed." Angus Young added, "As his brother it is hard to express in words what he has meant to me during my life, the bond we had was unique and very special. He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever. Malcolm, job well done." Other musicians reacting to Malcom's death include Eddie Van Halen, who posted that "it is a sad day in rock and roll. Malcolm Young was my friend and the heart and soul of AC/DC. I had some of the best times of my life with him on our 1984 European tour. He will be missed and my deepest condolences to his family, bandmates and friends." Paul Stanley, Slash, Ozzy Osbourne and Joe Satriani also tweeted their condolences. Malcom's death came just 27 days after his older brother, musician/producer George Young, died at age 70. - Billboard, 11/18/17...... It has been publicly revealed that actor Don Pedro Colley, perhaps best known for playing the straight-shooting Sheriff "Big Ed" Little of Chickasaw County on the 1979-85 CBS action comedy The Dukes of Hazzard, died on Oct. 11 in his hometown of Klamath Falls, Ore., following a long battle with cancer. He was 79. Colley also recurred as Gideon, a friend of Fess Parker's lead character, on NBC's Daniel Boone and appeared on other shows including Daktari, The Wild Wild West, Adam-12, Night Gallery, Ironside, The Streets of San Francisco, Little House on the Prairie, Starsky and Hutch and The A-Team. His big screen credits include Beneath the Planet of the Apes and the first film directed by Star Wars director George Lucas. - The Hollywood Reporter, 11/17/17.
John Cale, a founding member of the late '60s/early '70s band The Velvet Underground, has announced he'll perform two shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Nov. 16 and 17 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of VU's iconic 1967 LP The Velvet Underground & Nico. Cale, joined by such special guests as Animal Collective, MGMT, Sky Ferreira and Kurt Vile, will perform the album in its entirety. Cale has also announced he'll be throwing his own birthday party, "John Cale's 75th Birthday Celebration: A Live Audio-Spectrum from Dissonance to Destruction," focusing on his solo work. - Billboard, 11/10/17...... What turned out to be late rock legend Tom Petty's final tour, his 2017 40th anniversary trek with his band the Heartbreakers which began on Apr. 20 in Oklahoma City, Okla., drew a total of 637,671 fans to 44 headlining performances at arenas, amphitheaters and stadiums in the U.S. and Canada. Petty's final stand of three concerts at the Los Angeles amphitheater in September capped a five-month trek through 36 North American cities that grossed more than $61 million during its run. The Hollywood Bowl stint was ultimately the highest-grossing date on the jaunt, with a $5.3 million take from 49,217 sold seats on Sept. 21, 22 and 25. The only other three-show run was in Berkeley, California, in late August at the Hearst Greek Theatre. Petty also made a handful of festival appearances during the summer, among them a headlining slot on the final night of British Summer Time, a six-night festival at London's Hyde Park. It was his only European event this year, and marked only his second performance in the U.K. in two decades. The tour's success makes it on track to potentially rank among 2017's top 25 tours for the first time since 2010 when it ended the year at No. 14 based on $45 million in sales. - Billboard, 11/10/17...... Elton John celebrated the 25th anniversary of his Elton John AIDS Foundation on Nov. 7 at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City by delivering a teary and emotional speech about his efforts to raise awareness and fight against AIDS. After the mother of Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who became the poster child for HIV awareness during the 1980s AIDS crisis, spoke passionately about how the iconic rocker visited her son while he was sick and helped her family financially, John said the White family "lit a little candle in my soul." "Six months after Ryan passed away, I got help and I became sober," Elton said. The Elton John AIDS Foundation launched in 1992 in the United States and in the United Kingdom a year later. The two organizations have raised more than $385 million since then, and John said 98 percent of what is raised is used to help others. John told the audience that he's convinced his struggle to end the AIDS epidemic will be successful by 2030. Also attending "An Enduring Vision: A Benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation" were host Neil Patrick Harris along with Billy Joel, Sting, Sheryl Crow and actresses Glenn Close and Susan Lucci. The event raised more than $700,000 in a live auction. - AP, 11/8/17...... 
I In related news, former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters wrapped the opening leg of his Us + Them World Tour in Vancouver on Oct. 28 and 29, the last stop on a 45-city trek through North America that launched in late May. The tour's latest jaunt, from Oct. 2-29, has grossed over $18 million and ranks among the top 10 top-grossing tours for the week ending Nov. 10. So far the tour has racked up a total of $89 million in ticket sales from 63 concerts scheduled during a five-month stretch. More than 734,000 fans of the Pink Floyd alum caught the tour in North American markets during the run. - Billboard, 11/10/17...... The Eagles have shared audio of their first live performance of 
In related news, the live theater division of Universal Pictures announced on Nov. 8 that the Bee Gees will be getting their own stage musical. Universal president Jimmy Horowitz says he's reached an agreement with surviving Bee Gee Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb's widow Yvonne Gibb and the estate of Robin Gibb to develop a stage musical based on the life story of the legendary trio. Barry Gibb will serve as an executive producer on the project, which will feature the group's iconic music. "This is a wonderful opportunity for our family," said Barry Gibb in a statement. "I'm personally very excited to be a part of the creative process along with Yvonne and Dwina. It's another adventure for us and a chance to throw the spotlight on all my brothers and finally the real story of us will be told. It's an honor to be working alongside the people I most respect. I can't wait to get started!" - Billboard, 11/8/17...... Legendary 1960s British pop singer Petula Clark has announced her first U.S. tour in five decades behind her new album Living for Today, which hits stores on Nov. 10. The 84-year-old Clark -- best known for her 1964 hit "Downtown" and for starring turns on stage in Sunset Boulevard and Blood Brothers -- recorded the album mostly in London, and along with original songs includes choice covers of Steve Winwood's "While You See A Chance," Peggy Lee's "Fever" and the Beatles' "Blackbird." An original song called "The Rainbow" reunites Clark with her "Downtown" collaborator Tony Hatch for their first teaming in decades. Clark, who now resides in Geneva, kicks off her U.S. tour on Nov. 12 in Modesto, CA, with dates booked through Dec. 26 at B.B. King's in New York City. - Billboard, 11/9/17...... Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley says she intends to file a lawsuit against her former financial managers, claiming they squandered more than $100 million over a 10 year period. Presley claims her financial guru Barry Spiegel sold 85% of her interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) and then gave the money to Robert F.X. Sillerman as a way of ingratiating himself with the famous investor. Presley also charges that Spiegel spent $9 million of her money without her knowledge to buy an English estate and couldn't make the balloon payment on the property, and stopped paying her taxes in 2012 which left her with a tax bill of $7 million. Siegel counters that Lisa Marie overspent herself into destitution, and as early as 2003 as $20 million in debt and he was the one who righted the ship. Siegel says he tried hard to get her to stop her excessive spending over the next 10 years but it fell on deaf ears. - TMZ.com, 11/9/17...... In an interview with the UK paper The Sun, Mick Jagger revealed that the Rolling Stones will be "getting plans into place" for some huge shows in the UK in 2018. "We were disappointed not to perform in the UK on our recent jaunt and we're looking forward to getting plans in place to do so next year," Jagger said. This summer the Stones said they were forced to pass on UK shows in 2017 "due to lack of available venues because of sporting fixtures." The news comes after reports emerged that band would be headlining a "multi-day extravaganza" at Knebworth in the summer of 2018. - New Musical Express, 11/8/17...... 
In what has become a sort of annual tradition, a new private detective has alleged that Patrick McDermott, the ex-boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John, faked his death in 2005 and is now living in Mexico. The detective, Charlie Parker, told New Idea magazine that a photo discovered "last month on a noticeboard at [a] run-down El Palmar del Camaron beach campsite" shows a man who is almost certainly McDermott. Parker says the man in the photograph and McDermott are a "90% match." In an interview with the Australian version of 60 Minutes in 2016, Newton-John said she has no idea what happened to McDermott, and that it's just one of those things you have to "accept and let go...I live on." - Jezebel.com, 11/7/17...... The CBS television network has annouinced that will air a Grammys Greatest Stories: A 60th Anniversary Special on Nov. 24 that will feature rare archival footage, exclusive interviews and special appearances by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and U2. The special will also take viewers behind the scenes of "Music's Biggest Night," revealing secrets about the remarkable performances and unique Grammy moments only seen on the the Grammy Awards. CBS has also announced a 50th anniversary Carol Burnett special for Dec. 3 that celebrates Burnett's classic award-winning comedy series The Carol Burnett Show. In the special, filmed on the show's original soundstage (Stage 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles), Burnett reminisces about her favorite sketches, Q&As with the studio audience, guest stars, her memorable wardrobe and bloopers, as well as the tremendous effect the show continues to have on television today. Guest stars include original cast members Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, costume designer Bob Mackie, and comedians and friends including Jim Carrey, Stephen Colbert, Bernadette Peters, Jay Leno and Martin Short...... Pentti "Whitey" Glan, a session drummer who played on Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare and Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal, has died of lung cancer at age 71. Glan was once of member of the band Bush, which opened for Steppenwolf and Three Dog Night in the early '70s. ne of Bush's songs, "I Can Hear You Calling," which Glan co-wrote, was the b-side to Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World." Steppenwolf frontman John Kay then used his talents on a pair of solo albums, 1972's Forgotten Songs and Unsung Heroes and 1973's My Sportin' Life. Glan also played the drummer in The Rose, the 1979 Bette Midler movie that was loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin. - 11/8/17...... Actor John Hillerman, best known for his portrayal of Tom Selleck fastidious estate caretaker Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on Magnum, P.I., died on Nov. 9 at his home in Houston, Tex., of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 84. Mr. Hillerman received four Emmy nominations in consecutive years for portraying Higgins and won in 1987. He also played the Hardin twins in the 1973 film Paper Moon, one a moonshiner ripped off by Ryan O'Neal, the other a sheriff's policeman who chases him into St. Louis and has him beaten up. Other bigscreen appearances include What's Up, Doc?, The History of the World, Part 1, and Blazing Saddles. Mr. Hillerman retired from acting in 1999, after a career spanning more than 70 film and TV roles (and dozens more on the stage). His final role was in A Very Brady Sequel, in 1996. - The Hollywood Reporter, 11/9/17.
Tommy Ramone, the last surviving founding member of the groundbreaking punk band the Ramones, died after battling cancer on July 11. He was 65. Ramone reportedly died at a hospice facility in Ridgewood, Queens, and was suffering from cancer of the bile duct. Born Erdelyi Tamas in Budapest, Hungary in 1949, Ramone immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1957 to Forrest Hills, Queens. He co-founded the Ramones in 1974 with singer Jeffrey Hyman (Joey Ramone) and bassist Douglas Colvin (Dee Dee Ramone). He recorded 1976's 
Neil Young & Crazy Horse announced on July 13 that the band has canceled their July 17 concert in Israel at Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park over the current security crisis in the region." It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we must cancel our one and only Israeli concert due to tensions which have rendered the event unsafe at this time," a spokesperson for Young said in the statement on the website of Young's label, Warner Bros. Records. "We'll miss the opportunity to play for our fans and look forward to playing in Israel and Palestine in peace." A spokesman for Israeli authorities added that the concert was canceled "in order not to put people in Gaza rocket range at unnecessary risk." Palestinian militants have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel since July 8. The statement on the Warner Bros. site added that Young "will be making donations to the Louise Tillie Alpert Youth Music Centre of Israel and Heartbeat, which according to Young are "two organizations that teach music to Palestinian and Israeli youth simultaneously by enabling them to play music together." Earlier in 2014, Young's manager Elliot Roberts and former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters, a Palestinian sympathizer, both urged Young not perform in Israel. - Billboard, 7/13/14.
Luciana Giminez, the Brazilian ex-girlfriend of Mick Jagger, is calling on Brazilian soccer fans to stop bullying the Rolling Stones frontman after he was dubbed a bad luck charm for appearing to always support the losing team. Jagger was cheering Brazil from the stands of the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte on July 8, when the host nation suffered a humiliating 7-1 defeat at the hands of Germany, which went on to win its fourth World Cup on July 13 with a tense 1-0 victory over Argentina in extra time. The Jagger critics also noted that the singer had previously voiced his support for Italy at a show in Rome in June when he claimed the team would advance from the group stage, only for them to lose to Uruguay and bow out of the competition. Further supporting their theory, Jagger also allegedly told fans in Lisbon that he was backing Portugal to advance to the knock-out round, but again, they failed to make it and now his triple bout of bad luck has prompted some soccer-mad devotees to dub the rocker "pe frio", which loosely translates as "the jinx." Posting on her Instagram account, Luciana Giminez wrote, "I would like to ask you guys who do this kind of bullying to think before you do it. Even though it only seems like a small thing, Mick is a person like us all, and he does not deserve to be treated this way by Brazilians." - WENN.com, 7/9/14.
A red Gibson SG electric guitar which Pete Townshend of the Who famously windmilled on stage during a Seventies concert in Cleveland, Oh., is currently up for sale on the auction site Lelands.com. According to the listing, the instrument was originally gifted to Cleveland disc jockey David Spero (later the personal manager of Townshend's rock pal Joe Walsh, who toured with the Who in the '70s); it includes both the original case and a letter of authenticity from Spero that explains how he acquired the item. Also on the online bidding block is a bundle of Who drummer Keith Moon percussion accessories: two Premier timbale drums with original heads, and a Paiste crash cymbal and a drum stool used during the recording of the Who's 1978 LP (and Moon's final album with the band) 
AC/DC has reportedly completed work on their follow-up to 2008's Black Ice, an international smash that sold more than 5.3 million units in its first year of release. "The album is now finished. And the band members are apparently happy with the fruits of their labour... I'm very excited and we've got some great songs," frontman Brian Johnson told Classic Rock magazine. Johnson kept mum on the new LP's title, only saying "I wanted to call it 'Man Down' but its a bit negative and it was probably just straight from the heart. I like that." Johnson's potential title probably refers to the condition of the band's co-founding rhythm guitarist, Malcolm Young, who has recently been hospitalized with an illness that forced him to take a break from the band, and sparked the false rumor that AC/DC would call it quits. "We miss Malcolm obviously. 
He's a fighter," Johnson said. "He's in hospital but he's a fighter. We've got our fingers crossed that he'll get strong again." AC/DC was inducted into the Australian Record Industry Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and into the Rock And Rock Hall Of Fame in 2003. Earlier in 2014, Johnson hinted that AC/DC would play a 40-date tour to commemorate the group's 40th anniversary. Meanwhile in other heavy metal news, veteran rockers Judas Priest could nab what would be their first Top 10 album ever on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart in mid-July with the release of their new set 
Posting on his official Facebook page on July 9, Dave Davies of the Kinks refuted a new BBC Radio 2 documentary that once again alleges the long-debunked myth that Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page played on the 1964 Kinks hit, "You Really Got Me." "BBC tells lies about Dave Davies and the Kinks in their new documentary," Davies wrote in an all-caps message on Facebook, urging fans to tweet the facts at the show's producer Kellie Redmond and host Danny Baker. "I, Dave Davies, invented the distorted guitar sound and played the solo on 'You Really Got Me' and Ray Davies played rhythm guitar. We never used ANY other guitarists on any Kinks hits," Davies added. Baker's documentary on London's famed Denmark Street -- known as the city's own Tin Pan Alley -- simply states that Page, a session musician at the time, played on the track, though other iterations of the legend have credited him for the song's distinct guitar tone and solo. The Kinks themselves, producer Shel Talmy and even Page have all denied the legend's validity over the years. In June, Dave and his brother Ray Davies said they were discussing the possibility of a Kinks reunion tour, though they both agreed that they would want to record a new album before hitting the road. - Rolling Stone, 7/10/14.
NBC announced on July 8 that Stevie Nicks will be joining its hit talent show The Voice as an adviser to Adam Levine's team for the upcoming season, which premieres on Sept. 22. Filming is currently underway on the show's seventh season, and the 66-year-old Nicks has been working with Levine and his 12 team members as they assign songs and rehearse with the contestants in preparation for the show's battle rounds. Meanwhile, Nicks and Fleetwood Mac are preparing to kick off a 33-city tour starting Sept. 30 in Minneapolis, Minn. The fall tour will include Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and feature the return of McVie's ex-wife Christine McVie. - Billboard...... Aerosmith will launch a co-headlining summer tour with Slash of Guns N' Roses fame on July 10 in Wantagh, N.Y. Aerosmith has just wrapped an extended run in Europe, and guitarist Joe Perry says they will continue to showcase their 2012 album Music From Another Dimension!, an LP Perry says he doesn't feel has gotten its fair due. Perry will publish a memoir, Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith on Oct. 7, to be followed by a new solo album. Frontman Steven Tyler says hopes to finish his own solo album that he's been working on for the past few years. - Billboard...... Jackson Browne will be among the honorees of a Lifetime Achievement Award at The Americana Music Association Honors and Awards ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in September. Browne, who has lent his voice to a number of social policy issues including clean energy, will receive the "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech Award. - Billboard
Paul McCartney returned to the stage in Albany, N.Y. on July 5 after a virus kept him from performing for two months. McCartney, 72, made no immediate reference to the virus that briefly hospitalized him in Japan. Dressed in black pants and a sky blue blazer, he kicked off the concert with a version of the Beatles "Eight Days a Week" and took his jacket off four songs in, joking it would be the evening's only wardrobe change. At one point, he interrupted his set to invite a Rochester, N.Y. couple onstage to supervise a 
On July 7, Columbia Records formally announced that Pink Floyd will release their first new album in 20 years in October after David Gilmour's wife Polly Sampson casually tweeted that "the band has a new record in the works and it's coming out this fall... [it's] called The Endless River [and is] based on 1994 sessions... [it] is Rick Wright's swansong and very beautiful." Columbia's announcement confirmed Samspon's tweet, noting the new LP "is an album of mainly ambient and instrumental music based on the 1993/4 Division Bell sessions which feature David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright." The label added that the album will be produced by Gilmour alongside Phil Manzanera, Youth and recording engineer Andy Jackson. On July 1, the band celebrated The Division Bell's 20th anniversary by releasing a 
According to singer Durga McBroom-Hudson, who toured with Pink Floyd in the 1980s and 1990s, the band started recording the new project during the Division Bell sessions and it was originally titled "The Big Spliff." "It was originally to be a completely instrumental recording, but I came in last December and sang on a few tracks," McBroom-Hudson posted on her Facebook page. "David then expanded on my backing vocals and has done a lead on at least one of them. That's the song you see being worked on in the photo." She went on to emphasize that the new album will consist entirely of unreleased songs. David Gilmour currently has a solo album in the works, and there is no word on whether Roger Waters will have been included in the new project, but his last appearance on a Floyd record was in 1983 with The Final Cut. Waters reportedly has a new solo album in the works. - Rolling Stone/Billboard, 7/6/14.
A reel of six previously unheard recordings by late '70s cult singer/songwriter Nick Drake will go up for auction on July 31 at London's Ted Owen & Company. A company representative described the rare recordings as "pristine master tapes" and is expecting them to fetch at least £250,000 ($428,000). According to a story in the New York Times, the songs were recorded in 1968, the year before the release of his debut album Five Leaves Left, the reel has been owned by Beverley Martyn, a folk singer who mentored Drake alongside her late husband John Martyn. In an interview with the UK paper The Independent, Martyn called the sound "full of fun," and said Drake's early guitar playing on the tape is "absolutely excellent." "The strings were great [on the formal albums], but this is just him, and it makes it more personal," she said. She went on to describe Drake as a "younger brother." While Drake, who died prematurely of an anti-depressant overdose in 1974 at the age of 26, never found fame in his short lifetime and his albums received little acclaim (he was dropped by Island Records for poor sales), decades after his death audiences rediscovered his poetic lyrical sensibilities and delicate arrangements on albums such as 1970's 
The Moody Blues are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their seminal symphonic-rock LP 
The late David Cassidy has bowed on Billboard's Social 50 Chart after the former The Partridge Family teen idol died of liver failure on Nov. 21 at age 67. Cassidy entered the chart after his 
TV journalist Geraldo Rivera has apologized to Bette Midler over an incident that took place in the 1970s where Midler says he groped her at her own house. After Rivera defended the beleaguered Today show host Matt Lauer on social media and then took back the remarks, on Nov. 30 Midler shared a video from a 1991 interview with Barbara Walters where she recalled her disturbing encounter with Rivera. "Geraldo may have apologized for his tweets supporting Matt Lauer, but he has yet to apologize for this," Midler posted with the clip. In the video, she detailed an incident where Rivera and his producer pushed her into her bathroom, broke two of the recreational drug poppers and pushed them under her nose and, she said, "proceeded to grope me." In two tweets Rivera also said that he regrets the "distasteful" and "disrespectful" tone of his 1991 memoir, Exposing Myself, wherein he describes the encounter: "We were in the bathroom, preparing for the interview, and at some point, I put my hands on her breasts." Rivera tweeted that "I'm embarrassed & profoundly sorry to those mentioned -- I have & again apologize to anyone offended." - Billboard, 12/1/17...... The long-awaited biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has been put on hold after its director, Brian Singer, failed to return to the set after the Thanksgiving holiday. Although a rep for Singer said the director's absence was due to "a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family," it has been reported that Singer has previously clased with the cast and crew and has failed to turn up to the set once before. Singer, who is best known for directing the X Men franchise, chose actor Rami Malek to portray Mercury after Sacha Baron Cohen pulled out of the project in the summer of 2013, reportedly because he and Queen, who have script and director approval, were unable to agree on the type of movie they wanted to make. - New Musical Express, 12/2/17...... Two new documentaries of interest to '70s music fans will premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah: a Joan Jett biopic called Bad Reputation from director Kevin Kerslake, and Studio 54, a doc on the famed New York nightlife mecca. The Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 18 through Jan. 28. - Billboard, 11/30/17...... Bruce Springsteen has been spotted at the Freds Madison Avenue restaurant atop Barneys New York sipping wine now that he's spending a lot of time on Broadway for his new hit "Springsteen on Broadway" production. "He's friendly to fans," a source told the New York Post's Page Six. "He's nice to everyone." Springsteen has been seen sitting alone at the bar and enjoying a glass of wine with his lunch around 3 p.m. most days. Although he doesn't visit the restaurant every day, he reportedly "goes often." - PageSix.com, 11/29/17...... A fundraising campaign to build a music school honoring record producer Quincy Jones and to be located in a country of Jones' choosing has been started by the In a Perfect World (IAPW) organization. "We can reach children alone, but we can do so much more together. Just $30 sends a kid to school in Los Angeles with a backpack full of school supplies. And $22 sends a kid to school in a developing country for one year. How easy is that?," says IAPW founder Manuela Testolini. Jones was honored by IAPW at a gala at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles on Nov. 12. To donate, visit iapw.org/donate or facebook.com/inaperfectworldfdn or text "Give" to (310) 620-1515. - Billboard, 11/28/17...... 
Beach Boys member Al Jardine will launch a "Postcard From California - From the Very First Song" tour on Jan. 23-24 at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, Minn. The name comes from Jardine's debut solo album, 2010's A Postcard From California. Featuring his son Matt Jardine, the tour will feature Al telling stories about the Beach Boys' music and singing, as well as Matt singing and playing alongside his dad. The tour will also hit the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 23 and 24, and then visit he Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 29 and 30. "Al's voice is still so incredibly strong, so this show will highlight that," says the show's producer, Keith Putney. "With Matt Jardine on board, the harmonies will shine as well." - Billboard, 11/28/17...... Britain's Channel 4 has commissioned a film documenting the most important moments of the final year of rock icon Prince, from his secret performance at the White House during the Barack Obama era, to his final tour, Piano & a Microphone. The new project will feature interviews with Prince's friends, including political commentator Van Jones, singer Eryn Allen Kane, and his former girlfriend Andy. Also, it will include such musicians as Cee Lo Green and George Clinton. It will be directed by Adrian Sibley, who worked on The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill. In related news, Prince's estate has just release dfirst official merchandise since his death. The "Hit N Run" merchandise line -- named after his surprise album releases -- includes t-shirts themed after iconic Prince albums such as Purple Rain, 1999, Parade and Controversy, as well as a hoodie and purple hat. - New Musical Express, 12/1/17...... For the 29th annual World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Elton John is continuing his commitment to raising awareness and funds for the global HIV/AIDS epidemic with the help of mobile messaging app Kwippit and 25 famous friends. Each day during December, a custom-made digital heart -- similar to an emoji -- will be released to subscribers of Kwippit's Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) channel to share on social media and text messages. One hundred percent of the proceeds from downloads ($.99 annual membership) directly benefits the non-profit's grant-making programs that focus on raising awareness, sharing preventative information, and offering medical care and treatment to all people living with HIV. "I am so grateful to all of the EJAF friends participating in this Kwippit project for sharing their creativity with us, supporting our work, remaining steadfast to the cause, and believing in our ideals," Sir Elton said in a statement. - Billboard, 12/1/17...... 
Beloved comedic actor Jim Nabors, best known for starring on The Andy Griffith Show and later in his own spin-off series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., died at his home in Hawaii on Nov. 30. He was 87. A native of Alabama, Mr. Nabors also recorded more than two dozen albums with a rich, operatic baritone voice that surprised those who were used to hearing him exclaim "Gawwwleee!" with a Southern twang on television. For many years, Mr. Nabors also sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the opening ceremonies for the Indianapolis 500. Born James Thurston Nabors on June 12, 1930, in Sylacauga, Ala., Mr. Nabors sang in high school and acted in fraternity productions at the University of Alabama. After graduating with a degree in business administration, he moved to New York and worked as a typist and answered phones at the United Nations. In the early 1960s, Mr. Nabors was a regular performer at The Horn, a cabaret theater on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica that showcased new talent, when he was spotted by Andy Griffith, who thought Nabors would be perfect to play a new character on his CBS sitcom. That would be Gomer, a dim-witted, affable mechanic at Wally's filling station in Mayberry and a cousin of Goober (George Lindsey). Mr. Nabors was signed for just one episode, which aired midway through The Andy Griffith Show's third season in December 1962, but Gomer proved popular, and Mr. Nabors went on to appear in 23 installments of the series. Mr. Nabors' run on The Andy Griffith Show culminated with the fourth-season finale in which Gomer joins the U.S. Marines. With Pvt. Pyle being hounded by tough but caring drill sergeant Vince Carter (Frank Sutton), Gomer Pyle, USMC aired for five years (1964-69) on CBS and was a great success in the ratings -- always in the top 10 and No. 2 in its final season -- before the actor decided to pursue other activities, which included hosting his own variety show, The Jim Nabors Hour. It lasted two seasons and featured some of his Gomer Pyle co-stars. Mr. Nabors also had roles in such movies as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Stroker Ace (1983) and Cannonball Run II (1984). Mr. Nabors, who underwent a liver transplant in 1994, starred regularly at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome in The Jim Nabors Polynesian Extravaganza, which in the 1980s was one of the state's top showbiz attractions. He lived in Hawaii for more than 30 years and had homes in Honolulu and Maui, where he had a macadamia nut farm. In Jan. 2013, Mr. Nabors exchanged wedding vows with Stan Cadwallader, his partner of almost four decades, before a judge in a Seattle hotel room. Mr. Nabors met Cadwallader, a former firefighter in Honolulu, in 1975. "In Mayberry, there was no illness. There was no war. There was no violence. There was no graffiti. We all had a good time, and we laughed a lot," he said in a 2000 interview. - The Hollywood Reporter, 11/30/17.
The Bruce Springsteen Broadway show "Springsteen on Broadway" has had its run extended through June 30. The show, which opened at The Walter Kerr Theater on Oct. 12, was extended from the originally announced end date of November to Feb. 28 before it had even begun. The New York Post reported shortly after the shows started that viewers were reduced to tears watching Springsteen perform. In other Springsteen-related news, The Boss' childhood home at 39 Institute St. in Freehold, N.J., has been put up for auction, with a starting bid of $269,900. The duplex, where the rock icon lived between the ages of 6 and 19, is featured on the front cover of his 2016 autobiography 
Eric Clapton announced on Nov. 27 that he'll be returning to the UK's Hyde Park for a huge British Summer Time Festival gig in the summer of 2018. Slowhand will take the Great Oak stage on July 8, his first concert at the venue since 2008. "I have happy memories of performing in Hyde Park in the past," Clapton said in a statement. "I'm really looking forward to playing there again -- the whole atmosphere is very special." Opening for the 72-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will be his former Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood along with Carlos Santana and Gary Clark, Jr.. Clapton becomes the fourth confirmed headliner at British Summertime, which launched in 2013, joining an already announced line up of Roger Waters, Michael Buble and Bruno Mars. - New Musical Express, 11/27/17...... Three recently discovered microbe species that live in guts of termites have been named after the Canadian power trio Rush after scientists at the University Of British Columbia discovered the three new species. The microbes will be forever known as "P. leei," "P. lifesoni," and "P. pearti" after Rush's Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart ."A Spanish postdoc, Javier del Campo, asked me to recommend some good Canadian music, and I suggested he listen to Rush," University Of British Columbia microbiologist Patrick Keeling explained in a statement. Earlier in 2017, Rush also had a set of capybara triplets (a S. American mammal that resembles a giant guinea pig) named after them. - Stereogum.com, 11/28/17...... Some fans who attended a recent Robert Plant concert at Civic Hall in Wolverhampton, UK are complaining of overcrowding that caused a "small number" of them to faint due to the heat inside the venue. "In the first 20 minutes I saw six or seven people being carried out of the hall after collapsing," audience member Scott Campbell said. "I go to a lot of concerts but I had never seen anything like it." Plant, who was born in nearby West Bromwich, played at the venue, which has a capacity of 3000, on Nov. 20. Campbell said that he tried and failed to get inside the venue's main hall, and ended up leaving the gig to go home. A spokesman for the City of Wolverhampton Council issued a statement saying, "While the Civic Hall meets the required health and safety standards, it is an 80-year-old building and improvements to the ventilation and heating system are part of the planned refurbishment scheme." - NME, 11/23/17...... 
Arlo Guthrie played his annual Thanksgiving concert at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York on Nov. 25. Guthrie has played a total of 54 performances at Carnegie -- often with fellow good friend Pete Seeger -- and says he was "literally shaking" the first few times he played the historic venue. "I knew the history of that stage and it scared me. It took a few years to be able to breathe and sing at the same time. Now it feels like going home. We've done it so often and so many times that it's very enjoyable and something I look forward to doing every year," he said. Guthrie is currently in the midst of his Re:Generation Tour, which includes his son Abe Guthrie and daughter Sarah Lee Guthrie. "I've seen my kids mature as performers, which I love," Guthrie says. "Abe and Sara Lee in particular have become really good up there, which I love. And when we all get together it's family. It's fun. We don't have any divas in this family, so it makes it easy," he added. Guthrie says he's working on "nothing in particular" in regards to new music. "We've got so much in the catalog at this point, there's not enough time to do them," he notes. And while the current turbulent times may seem to call for new Guthrie songs, he says he feels the old ones will actually suffice. "We've already got some good songs about this stuff. This is obviously not the sunny day that we had imagined might be here at this point. It looks awful cold and cloudy... Despite everything I think the world is evolving, and the destiny I see is a lot brighter than what other people see sometimes. I don't know if I'll still be around when we finally get there, but I'm confident we will get there." - Billboard, 11/24/17...... 
Diaries written by John Lennon are among 100 items belonging to the late Beatle that were stolen from his widow Yoko Ono in 2006 and recently recovered by police in Berlin, Germany. Lennon's diaries are currently on display at Berlin police headquarters -- along with two pairs of his iconic round specs, a tape recording of a Beatles concert, sheet music and a cigarette case. The collection of items were stolen from Ono in 2006, and German media have reported that Ono has identified the goods from photos she was shown at the German consulate in New York. German police have arrested a 58-year-old man, while a second suspect -- who used to work for Ono -- is currently "unattainable," according to Martin Steltner, a spokesman for the Berlin prosecutor's office. - New Musical Express, 11/22/17...... Former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert is claiming director Oliver Stone once sexually harassed her during an audition for Stone's 1991 The Doors biopic of the same name. On Nov. 20, Gilbert told Andy Cohen harassed her as "revenge" for embarrassing him in a social situation. "He wrote this special scene that he wanted me to do for him physically in the casting room, and it was humiliating and horrid," Gilbert said. "He got me back and it hurt." Stone responded to the accusation the following day, saying all actors who auditioned were told the experience would be extreme. "It was made clear from the outset that our film was going to be a raunchy, no-holds-barred rock 'n' roll movie," Stone said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "Anyone auditioning was told the scenes would be rehearsed and performed from a script, with my casting director, Risa Bramon Garcia, present throughout the process to ensure a safe environment for all actors who auditioned," he added. - Billboard, 11/21/17...... Even superfans of Pink Floyd will learn something new with author Jean-Michel Guesdon's new book 
It's tough for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers like Cheap Trick to do wrong, and they deck their first ever Christmas LP,