Here’s wishing a speedy recovery to KISS frontman Paul Stanley, who revealed in a Twitter post that he’s having an operation on his shoulder today.
According to the message, this will be the latest in a series of surgical procedures on his shoulder.
“SHOULDER SURGERY TODAY! How many show related surgeries have I had?? I lost count at EIGHT!!” writes Stanley. “Was it worth it?!? ABSOLUTELY! Judge the value of what of you have by what you sacrificed to achieve that goal. This was a joy-filled BARGAIN.”
Earlier this year, the singer/guitarist weathered a bout with COVID-19 that briefly sidelined KISS’ End of the Road farewell tour. The trek is scheduled to resume next year with an Australian leg that kicks off March 19 in Melbourne.
In his career, Kragen managed stars like Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, The Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John and The J. Geils Band, country stars Trisha Yearwood and Travis Tritt, and entertainers like Burt Reynolds and The Smothers Brothers. He also produced The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Gambler movies, starring Rogers.
However, Kragen is best known for his involvement in “We Are the World.” In 1984, actor and humanitarian Harry Belafonte asked Kragen to help organize a concert to raise money for African famine relief. Kragen suggested a charity single instead, and was instrumental in helping to line up the talent who appeared on the “We Are the World” single, co-written by Richie and Michael Jackson.
Released in 1985, “We Are the World” featured everyone from Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Ray Charles to Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Steve Perry, Hall & Oates, Cyndi Lauper and Huey Lewis. It topped the Billboard Hot 100, became the first single ever to be RIAA-certified multi-Platinum, and raised more than $64 million for poverty relief in Africa and the U.S.
That same year, thanks to his efforts, Kragen became one of only a few private citizens ever to receive the United Nations’ Peace Medal.
In May of 1986, Kragen organized “Hands Across America,” which saw 6.5 million people linking hands across the U.S. for 15 minutes to create a human chain. Celebrities who participated included Rogers, Kenny Loggins, Bob Seger, Dionne Warwick, Yoko Ono, Robin Williams, Michael J. Fox, Michael Jackson, Brooke Shields and President Ronald Reagan. That project raised $15 million for hunger and homelessness.
Kragen went on to serve on the boards of numerous charities, lecture and teach at various universities, and produce part of Bill Clinton‘s 1992 presidential inauguration. He wrote the 1994 best-selling book Life Is a Contact Sport, won two MTV Awards and an American Music Award, and was nominated for two Emmy Awards.
Kinks guitarist Dave Davies has written a new autobiography titled Living on a Thin Line that’s scheduled to be released on July 7, 2022, in hardcover and e-book editions.
According to TheBookseller.com, the memoir will feature Dave’s recollections and anecdotes about The Kinks’ heyday, his turbulent relationship with his brother Ray — the band’s lead singer and main songwriter — the group’s legacy and much more.
The book also will include stories about Dave crossing paths with various other music legends, among them John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix.
“I’ve had a laugh, and shed quite a few tears, thinking back over the last six decades since The Kinks had our first hit in 1964 with ‘You Really Got Me,'” says Dave in a statement. “Here are the ups and downs of my life in The Kinks and what happened afterwards. Prepare to be amazed and, I hope, surprised.”
Editor Richard Roper, who acquired the rights to Davies’ book for the Headline Publishing Group, states, “Dave is hands-down one of the greatest musicians to pick up a guitar. His fans will absolutely adore it.”
Dave previously published a memoir titled Kink in 1996, but a post on his Instagram page reports that Living on a Thin Line “is ALL NEW WRITING never before seen in his previous autobiography — a completely new book to enjoy.”
KISS bassist/singer Gene Simmons says a museum celebrating his famous band currently is being built in Las Vegas at the Rio hotel and casino, which already houses the KISS by Monster Mini Golf attraction.
In a recent phone interview, Simmons told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he expects the museum to open by March 2022.
“[It] is really just my collection, because I’ve got a half-century of KISS stuff,” Simmons he revealed to the newspaper. “I want the fans to see it.”
According to the paper, the museum will be connected to a planned 15,000-square-foot KISS-themed space that includes the mini golf course.
“It’s going to be breathtaking,” Simmons declared. “We have three tractor-trailers full of stuff, and it’s going to be spectacular. The fans are going to dig it. You can play golf, you can have your photo taken, you can take videos of yourself onstage with KISS, and then go visit my private collection.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer said that “hundreds and hundreds” of items will be on display, including costumes, stage props, gold and platinum albums and much more.
Meanwhile, Simmons also said he’s hoping to reschedule KISS’ recently canceled Las Vegas residency at Zappos Theater, which was to have run from late December of this year through early February 2022.
Gene explained that he wanted to reschedule the shows in six months or a year, when there aren’t as many artists performing in Vegas.
“With all due respect to other all the other artists who are terrific, and who are great and iconic, we’d rather wait for the traffic to die down and bring the best show on Earth, period,” Simmons told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Rolling Stones‘ No Filter Tour of the U.S. was by far the highest-grossing trek in the world this year, according to new data released by Pollstar, which tracks the live entertainment business.
The Stones, who hit the road just a month after the death of their founding drummer, Charlie Watts, brought in a total of $115.5 million in just 12 concerts that were eligible for consideration.
Pop star Harry Styles is second on the list, grossing $86.7 million over 39 events.
Other rock artists whose tours landed in the top 10 of the list include Green Day, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, the Eagles, Dead & Company, Guns N’ Roses, Dave Matthews Band and Phish.
The Hella Mega Tour, featuring Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy, is #3 on the tally, grossing $67.3 million in 20 shows.
The Eagles’ Hotel California 2021 Tour is in fourth place, after bringing in $59.2 million over 23 concerts.
Dead & Company are at #5, grossing $50.2 million, GN’R are at #7 after bringing in $47.3 million, Dave Matthews Band are in eighth place after grossing $46 million, and Phish are #9, with $44.4 million in gross earnings.
Impressively, The Rolling Stones had six of the 10 highest-grossing concert engagements of 2021, with their October 14 and October 17 shows at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, topping the tally with $18.9 million.
Here’s the full list of Pollstar‘s Top 10 2019 North American Tours:
1. The Rolling Stones — $115.5 million, 516,624 tickets sold
2. Harry Styles — $86.7 million, 669,051 tickets sold
3. “The Hella Mega Tour” — $67.3 million, 659,062 tickets sold
4. Eagles — $59.2 million, 257,584 tickets sold
5. Dead & Company — $50.2 million, 588,658 tickets sold
6. Los Bukis — $49.7 million, 357,343 tickets sold
7. Guns N’ Roses — $47.3 million, 351,339 tickets sold
8. Dave Matthews Band — $46.0 million, 583,399 tickets sold
9. Phish — $44.4 million, 572,626 tickets sold
10. Jonas Brothers — $42.5 million, 528,630 tickets sold
Perry Farrell/William Morris Endeavor Entertainment/C3 Presents/Lotus Producciones
Foo Fighters, Jane’s Addiction and Ramones drummer Marky Ramone are among the many acts that will play the 2022 edition of Lollapalooza Chile, taking place March 18-20.
The festival’s bill also includesThe Strokes, Miley Cyrus, Machine Gun Kelly and dozens more. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit LollapaloozaCL.com.
Foo Fighters, Jane’s Addiction and Ramone are all scheduled to perform on the first day of the fest, which will be held in Chile’s capital of Santiago.
The Foos are also set to headline the other two South American Lollas next year, taking place in Argentina and Brazil.
In related international Foo news, Dave Grohl and company canceled their scheduled performance at last weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix race in Abu Dhabi due to “unforeseen medical circumstances.”
Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant and acclaimed country/bluegrass artist Alison Krauss will be the musical guest this Friday, December 17, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which airs at 11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. CT on NBC.
Plant and Krauss will be promoting their new collaborative album Raise the Roof, which debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 and at #1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums chart earlier this month.
The duo also are featured in a new installment of NPR Music’s signature music-performance series, Tiny Desk Concert, which you can watch now on YouTube. The session was shot at a Nashville studio, and captures Robert, Alison and five musicians playing three songs from Raise the Roof — “Can’t Let Go,” “Searching for My Love” and “Trouble with My Lover.”
“Can’t Let Go” was written by Randy Weeks and originally recorded in 1998 by acclaimed alt-country artist Lucinda Williams; “Searching for My Love” is a 1966 R&B tune by Bobby Moore & the Rhythm Aces; and “Trouble with My Lover” was written by New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint and recorded in 1968 by soul singer Betty Harris.
Four of the musicians backing Plant and Krauss are featured on Raising the Roof, while the duo also is joined by Oklahoma-based singer/guitarist and roots rocker JD McPherson.
As previously reported, Plant and Krauss will be launching a short U.S. tour next year that kicks off June 1 in Canandaigua, New York, and runs through a June 16 in Atlanta.
The landmark 1984 Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense is among the 25 films just added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.
Each year the Library of Congress selects a number of films for preservation that are considered to have “cultural, historic and aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage.”
Directed by the late Jonathan Demme, who went on to win a Best Director Oscar in 1992 for Silence of the Lambs, Stop Making Sense captures the influential New York-based band performing in December ’83 at a series of shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater, during the height of their popularity.
The 88-minute movie features the David Byrne-led group on a sparsely decorated stage performing many of their best-known songs, including “Once in a Lifetime,” “Burning Down the House,” “Psycho Killer” and “Life During Wartime.” The film also includes a rendition of “Genius of Love,” a hit by Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth‘s side project, Tom Tom Club.
A synopsis of Stop Making Sense from the National Film Registry describes it as “infectious and the quintessential get-up-and-dance experience.”
Turner Classic Movies will screen a selection of this year’s entries as part of a television special on Friday, December 17, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
As previously reported, Talking Heads will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Recording Academy’s upcoming Special Merit Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 30, 2022, a day before the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Here’s the National Film Registry’s complete 2021 class, in chronological order:
Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902) Jubilo (1919) The Flying Ace (1926) Hellbound Train (1930) Flowers and Trees (1932) Strangers on a Train (1951) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Evergreen (1965) Requiem-29 (1970) The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971) Pink Flamingos (1972) Sounder (1972) The Long Goodbye (1973) Cooley High (1975) Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) Chicana (1979) The Wobblies (1979) Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Stop Making Sense (1984) Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987) The Watermelon Woman (1996) Selena (1997) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) WALL•E (2008)
Earlier this year, Rick Wakeman had to postpone a portion of the 2021 U.S. leg of his Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour until next year because of issues regarding COVID-19 restrictions. Now the former Yes keyboardist has announced some added changes to his stateside itinerary.
The run of 2022 shows, which kicks off February 22 in Seattle, originally had been confirmed through a March 11 concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but a previously postponed concert in Kent, Ohio, has now been rescheduled for March 13 and a new performance in Toronto has been added on March 14.
In addition, postponed shows in Chicago and Buffalo, New York, have been canceled, a March 5 concert in Des Plaines, Illinois, has been added in place of the Chicago gig, an a new performance in Tucson, Arizona, also is now part of Wakeman’s 2022 outing.
As previously reported, Wakeman’s Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour shows feature him playing solo piano and keyboard versions of Yes classics, material from his solo albums, and well-known songs by other artists to which he contributed. Rick also presents his arrangements of a few Beatles tunes at the concerts, as well as telling bawdy jokes and humorous anecdotes.
Wakeman currently is in the middle of a U.K. holiday trek dubbed The Not Quite as Grumpy as Last Xmas Tour, which is scheduled to wind down on December 21 in Hull, England.
The M3 Rock Festival is set to return in 2022. The event, which celebrates 1980s-era rock and heavy metal music, is scheduled to take place May 6-8 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
Next year’s 13th edition of the extravaganza will feature performances by Blue Öyster Cult, Tesla, Cinderella‘s Tom Keifer, Extreme, Ratt‘s Stephen Pearcy, Skid Row, Stryper, Yngwie Malmsteen, Zebra, Quireboys, Kix and many more.
Three-day and VIP packages for the fest go on sale this Friday, December 17, at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster.com.
Kix will headline the May 6 kickoff party, which also will include performances from Lizzy Borden and Doro.
The May 7 lineup is led by Kiefer and also features Blue Öyster Cult, Extreme and Pearcy. The festival wraps up with a loud bang on May 8, with Tesla headlining and Skid Row, Stryper, Malmsteen, Zebra and Quireboys also performing.
