Celebrity
The Glorious Corner
The Beatles performing during the Let It Be Sessions
WOLF TROUBLE? — One of the more alarming developments in the last few weeks of civil unrest and protests is the immediate cancellation of such shows, like Cops (33 seasons!) and LIVE PD, that showed over and over, how heroic the police can be and usually always are.
Personally, I never watched any of these shows; often too gruesome and sad to see. Truth be told, I never had any desire.
Another looming dialogue is all the Dick Wolf-produced shows under the banner of Law & Order. How, in the various episodes, the cops (and, lawyers) are always portrayed as heroes and always right.
On Hulu, the streamer said goodbye to the Abigail Spencer-fronted Reprisal, a drama about a woman who was left for dead and starts a vengeful campaign, and Harlots, a period drama starring Jessica Brown Findlay.
I’m a Law & Order fan and to be completely honest, there have been shows about cops who ventured out of the blue-wall and were swiftly brought to justice. Just as several of Wolf’s show successfully portrayed a Harvey Weinstein-like figure last year, we’ll see what happens this year … if they can even start filming new shows.
Is this an overreaction? Most definitely. There’s no question that tweaks and adjustments can be made, but to sever an entire series, seems to be, to be a bit much.
Sure, the scripts will be no written differently and more sensitively and to me that’s a very, positive thing.
Law & Order: SVU brought to light the injustice done to victims (male and female) and to me that should be applauded. Face it: they talked about Harvey Weinstein-like figures before his allegations even came to light.
60% of TV will be affected by the pandemic; the Fall TV season, which usually starts in September, won’t. Stay tuned …this story is far from over.
JOLLY HOLLY BEATLES — (via Variety) On the basis of the Beatles’ swan-song 1970 film Let It Be, the album’s sessions were downright morose. While the idea was to show the group performing live, creating music on the spot, as nature intended, the sessions actually took place early in the morning in the depths of a London winter, and in the film the bandmembers often seem glum, occasionally argue and rarely summon their famed charisma and enthusiasm — and the cavernous soundstage (Twickenham) in which they performed cast a dark, murky atmosphere over the film.
Amid the extensive Beatles reissue campaigns, it’s the one project the surviving members have seemed reluctant to return to — until last year, when Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who had just completed They Shall Not Grow Old, a project that saw him cleaning up and colorizing archival World War I film footage, was essentially enlisted him to do the same with the many hours of unused Let It Be footage.
An entirely different, much more cheerful narrative will be presented in Jackson’s forthcoming film, on the basis of a several-minute-long preview that was screened for an invite-only audience during a Universal Music Group’s showcase.
After the audience was warned not to photograph or film the footage, longtime Apple Records chief Jeff Jones (who noted that the Beatles had taken the name for their record company long before the computer colossus was formed) said, “We have created a brand-new film that will attempt to bust the myth that the ‘Let It Be’ sessions were the final nail in the Beatles’ coffin.”
And sure enough, an amazing counter-narrative to Let It Be film has ensued: It’s brighter both visually and spiritually, with many, many shots of the Beatles joking around, making fun of each other, singing in silly accents and generally indulging in vintage Moptop hijinks.
It also features many scenes of the group rehearsing songs from the Abbey Road album — their true swan song, which would be recorded over the following summer — and even rough versions of songs that would appear on solo records.
On the basis of this clip, Beatles fans will lose their minds over this film, which has no release date but seems likely to be released in the spring, in time for the 50th anniversary of the original “Let It Be” release date in May.
UPDATE: The Beatles: Get Back, which chronicles the group’s rehearsals and performances from January 1969 as it began work on a new album, won’t premiere until August 2021. The movie was originally scheduled to open in September but has now been delayed for almost a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to The Wrap, The Beatles: Get Back is just one of several projects that Disney has postponed until next year. The film expands on the Beatles’ original 1970 movie Let It Be, which was envisioned as a TV special before the group changed direction during the making of the album.
The Beatles had intended to get back to their roots with a new stripped-down record following the studio experiments of albums like 1966’s Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from the next year, as well as the tumultuous and often fractured sessions of the White Album in 1968.
But things didn’t turn out that way, and band members were soon quarreling with one another. After a live performance on the roof of their Apple headquarters was shut down by the police, the Beatles abandoned the Get Back project, where it sat on the shelf for a year before producer Phil Spector assembled the tapes into the final album released by the group, Let It Be.
The accompanying film, which has been out of circulation for years, documented the splintering band and the making of the LP. Jackson’s new version will include previously unseen footage, which reportedly gives a more clear indication of what was really going down during the sessions. According to various accounts, the new scenes show things weren’t as tense as Let It Be and legend indicate.
“I am really happy that Peter has delved into our archives to make a film that shows the truth about the Beatles recording together,” Paul McCartney said in an earlier statement. “The friendship and love between us comes over and reminds me of what a crazily beautiful time we had.”
Ringo Starr added: “I’m really looking forward to this film. Peter is great, and it was so cool looking at all this footage. There was hours and hours of us just laughing and playing music, not at all like the version that came out. There was a lot of joy, and I think Peter will show that. I think this version will be a lot more peace and loving, like we really were.”
Jackson’s movie will also include the entirety of the famous rooftop concert. The Let It Be film included about half of the performance’s 42 minutes. Shortly after that impromptu lunchtime show, the Beatles started work on another new album, Abbey Road, which became their last LP recorded together – and, perhaps not coincidentally, one that captured the back-to-basics spirit they were trying to achieve earlier in 1969.
As I’ve stated previously, I’ll see the new, updated film, but I don’t want to see it portrayed as they were in A Hard Day’s Night. We’ve all read for decades about what really went down and how tensions were high.
Revisionist history? Definitely.
DALI RESUE — Stressed out while working at a bank in New Zealand, Junelle Kunin began searching for music paired with teachings from the Dalai Lama to calm herself down and allow herself to focus.
But she couldn’t find it online.
That’s when the musician and practicing Buddhist proposed an idea to The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Let’s make an album fusing music with mantras and chants from the Tibetan spiritual leader.
She was politely turned down.
But on a trip to India — where Kunin says she typically gets a chance to meet the Dalai Lama — she asked again, this time writing a letter and handing it to one of his assistants.
Five years later, Inner World is born. The album featuring teachings and mantras by the Dalai Lama set to music will be released on July 6, his 85th birthday.
“I’d never heard him speak like this. He really was so excited … he actually proceeded to explain to me how important music is,” Kunin said. “He leaned forward and his eyes were sparkling, and his fingers were rubbing together and he (talked) about how music can help people in a way that he can’t; it can transcend differences and return us to our true nature and our good heartedness.”
The 11-track project will be released in conjunction with a companion booklet.
On her trip to India in 2015, Kunin wrote down a list of topics and mantras she thought would be great for the album, and recorded the conversations with the Dalai Lama for “
Inner World. The religious leader recites the mantras of seven Buddhas on the album, discussing topics like wisdom, courage, healing and children. The track “Compassion,” one of the most famous Buddhist prayers, was released this past Tuesday.
When Kunin returned home, her husband, Abraham, who is also a musician and producer, helped her create music and sounds to enhance the Dalai Lama’s messages and powerful words.
Kunin said that although they’ve worked on the album for the last five years, it feels extremely relevant releasing it now.
“The entire purpose of this project is to try to help people. It’s not a Buddhist project, it’s to help everyday people like myself, even though I am Buddhist,” she said. “The messages couldn’t be more poignant for our current social climate and needs as humanity.”
Net proceeds from the sales of the album will benefit Mind & Life Institute as well as Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning (SEE Learning), an international education program developed by Emory University and the Dalai Lama.
Grammy-nominated sitar player Anoushka Shankar makes a guest appearance on the album, playing on “Ama La,” a track honoring mothers. Shankar said being invited to perform on the album was “a huge honor.”
She first met The Dalai Lama as a child with her father, the legendary musician Ravi Shankar.
For the new album, she said, “What I was given was a beautiful template of (the Dalai Lama’s) voice speaking … it was very evocative with his speaking. It’s so clear what the mood is about … that it kind of flowed quite simply to just play over that and try to add a musical enhancement to the words he’s speaking.”
Dozens of other musicians were invited to help on the project, while Kunin’s husband had multiple roles, from playing guitar and percussion to drum and synth programming. Kunin co-produced the album and added vocals to three songs, including “Purification.”
She wrote the piano part of that track with her hospitalized mother in mind, growing more nervous as the coronavirus rapidly spread.
“I really thought we were going to lose her. And so I wrote what I would want her to feel and hear at the time of her dying,” Kunin said.
Her mother survived, but weeks later Kunin’s nephew died. And because of COVID-19 restrictions, she and her family couldn’t carry out the tradition of sleeping surrounding his body, which would typically lie on a marae for three days. On top of that, her husband was back home finishing the album to make its deadline.
“(My husband) was home weeping at this point, which is when the inspiration came to complete the song ‘Purification,’” Kunin said, adding that they dedicated the track to their nephew Izyah Micah Toli.
“And he finished it.”
SHORT TAKES — Grunge-rockers Daeodon guests on Zach Martin’s BFA podcast Tuesday, in support of their excellent new album Forever Strangers …
Celebrity-scribe Mark Bego, who just signed with Yorkshire Publishing, joins Debbie Gibson (he wrote a biography on her too!) this week on Debby Campbell’s podcast.
We’ll have the link later this week for you … Romeo Delight (the #1 Van Halen-tribute band) will be at the Cutting Room in November … and, HAPPY BDAY to Roger Friedman.
NAMES IN THE NEWS — Audrey Strahl; Seymour Stein; Coati Mundi; Tom & Lisa Cuddy; J. Robert Spencer; Donnie Kehr; Liberty DeVitto; Vic Kastel; Roy Trakin; Will Lee; Steve Gadd; Steve Walter; Robert Miller; Andy Skurow; and, CHIP!
G.H. Harding
SO LONG, FAREWELL — I’ve been a TV-guy for decades; from Mary Tyler Moore; MASH; The X-Files and Seinfeld on down; I’ve seen great shows fall low with just terribly written finales, but the final-Ted Lasso episode this week was nothing short of brilliant. The acting, the writing, the joie de vivre off the charts.
Joie de vivre literally translates into the joy of living and the three seasons of Ted Lasso were all just sensational in every way. Sure, there were some standout episodes (Beard After Hours), but Jason Sudeikis and gang were always just wonderful. Some pundits said that this third season ran off the rails a bit, but this last episode neatly tied them all up. And I’d be remiss in not mentioning the brilliant music that accompanied each and every episode; from The Monkees’ “Sometime In The Morning” to the new Ed Sheeran record which debuted in this last episode. Just so neatly done.
Hannah Waddingham
I’ll tell you what I really liked from the get-go was the fact that this episode began after Ted clearly told Rebecca he was going home in the last episode. The fact that they didn’t show it, made it a lot easier to digest. Hannah Waddingham is a star and she had her moment with Ted, in the seats, asking him one more time to stay.
She’s going to be as huge star, so get ready to see a lot more of her.
Brett Goldstein too (Roy Kent) was just tremendous. He’s huge already!
Roy Kent became the new coach of AFC Richmond with Nate as an able assistant. Ted Crimm (James Lance) finished his book originally titled The Lasso Way, but Ted after reading it and loving it, wanted a new title. Hence, The Richmond Way.
Just a great episode; a tad longer at 76-minutes, but richly written and acted. I am going to miss this show tremendously.
Utterly brilliant in every way.
Milli Vanilli
MILLI VANILLI — (Via Deadline) A feature doc about controversial pop group Milli Vanilli has been picked up by Paramount +.
The eponymous doc, which tells the story of the duo who were forced to return their Grammy Award for Best New Artist after it was revealed that they didn’t sing on any of their records, is premiering at the Tribeca Festival.
The streamer will launch the doc in the U.S. as well as in Canada, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Produced by MRC and MTV Entertainment Studios, Milli Vanilli tells the story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, who became fast friends during their youth in Germany. With Rob coming from a broken home and Fabrice having left an abusive household, they shared a similar upbringing, as well as a future goal: to become famous superstars. In a few short years, their dreams came true. Their first album went platinum six times in 1989, and their hit Girl You Know It’s True sold over 30 million singles worldwide. Rob and Fab became the world’s most popular pop duo in 1990. However, their ascension to success came with a devastating price that ultimately led to their infamous undoing.
“For over 30 years, the story of Milli Vanilli – in particular Rob and Fab – has been reduced to sensational headlines,” said director Luke Korem. “With this documentary, we pull back the curtain on pop music. Featuring interviews with the real singers, record executives, the producer mastermind behind the deception and exclusive interviews with Rob and Fab, we unveil the truth of this complex, exciting and dramatic story. I’m thrilled that Paramount+ shares our vision and will bring this film to audiences around the world.”
“Finally – the true story of Milli Vanilli has been told,” added Fabrice Morvan. “I’m thankful Luke Korem and his team went to the lengths that they did. The journey I returned to during the filming of this documentary didn’t leave any stone unturned. At last I can close this chapter in peace… Get ready to take a walk in our steel-toe boots.”
Flatiron Building
SHORT TAKES — Nomad’s Flatiron Building looks to be turned into a residential house. Not a bad idea at all. Great address (175 Fifth) and a great location … Brian Lowry, who used to cover TV for Variety, now is at CNN. Great writer and he did a fantastic book on The X-Files years back. Congrats …
Donnie Kehr at Steve Walter’s CuttingRoom Sunday performing his Beautiful Strange album live … As you can well imagine, the reviews for Succession’s finale were just tremendous; both pro and con for certain, The Washington Post ran an interesting piece on the show as well; from a more medical-point of view. I loved it; take a look: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/05/30/succession-wealth-family-life-psychologists/ …
Slade
Daryl Easlea: a brilliant writer from the U.K. has a book coming out on Slade entitled Whatever Happened To Slade?Remember them?
A Bronx Tale
Here’s the cover … To close this year’s Tribeca Festival, there will be a special 30th anniversary screening of the film, A Bronx Tale, Saturday, June 17. After the film, Robert DeNiro (who directed the movie), Jane Rosenthal, and Chazz Palminteri will participate in a live conversation with David Remmick, editor of the New Yorker. Definitely one of the major highlights of this year’s fete … (Via Showbiz 411):
Billy Joel
Billy Joel is wrapping it up. The Piano Man will end his record-breaking run at Madison Square Garden in July 2024. It will be his 150th monthly show. The whole run has been an incredible success, allowing Billy to stay mostly close to him and bring all his fans to him. At times, he’s strayed to other cities and countries, but every month like clockwork he’s been at the Garden playing his hits to very happy fans. The sold out residency began back in 2014, believe it or not. Billy has outlasted dozens of Broadway shows, some mayors, governors, presidents, etc. The run has been a phenomenon and a stunning success. Joel will turn 75 next May, so that plus the magic 150 number and it all makes sense … Happy Bday Melani Rogers; Ronnie Wood; and David Keeps.
NAMES IN THE NEWS — Daryl Easlea; Tony King; David Geffen; Ed Rosenblatt; Glenn Friscia; Jim Burgess; Kent Denmark; Mikael Wood; Lester Bangs; Anne Leighton; Vince Aletti; Fred Goodman; Mark Bego; Mike Greenblatt; Ken Dashow; Jane Rosenthal; Robert DeNiro; Tom & Lisa Cuddy; Markos Papadatos; and ZIGGY!
G.H. Harding
FAMILY’S A BITCH-THE END OF SUCCESSION — Sunday’s finale of Succession (HBO) was a mixed bag. I’ll be honest: At first I thought the finale was totally underwhelming, but after some additional thought and reading some other excellent reviews, I’ve come to the point where I now believe it was, pure and simple, how it had to end.
Joss Stone
None more so than Joss Stone on “I Put A Spell On You.” What a voice. I’m amazed she’s not bigger; very Janis Joplin.
Gary Clark
Also, Gary Clark delivered a blistering, amazing performance on Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers.” No question that he’s the next guitar-wizard. Here they both are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvO2_noxaXQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO2BLAXveVo …
The Flash
I watched all 9 seasons of the CW’s The Flash and the first 5 were pretty terrific. The remaining ones got poorer and poorer as the original cast disappeared one by one. Grant Gustin, The Flash, was there the whole time, but their finale last week was terribly confusing – save for a song by Tony Award winner Jesse L. Martin (for Rent) – a key member of the original cast. The last two seasons had a myriad of costumed villains, some from the comic, some not, but just wildly messed up. The CW was sold to Nexstar last year and big changes are in their future. Sad … and, CNN is reporting that Universal Music is close to snapping up the rights to the Queen-catalog for $1 billion-plus. Good for them.
Queen
Disney had it previously, but Queen’s music is more popular than ever before. It’s a real shame Freddie is not her to share in it. If you wondered the record for the biggest previously was for Bruce Springsteen’s catalog at $500 million.
Ramon Hervey has earned global recognition as a highly regarded entertainment manager, brand consultant & publicist who has represented Richard Pryor, Bette Midler, Paul McCartney, the Bee Gees, Muhammad Ali, Caitlyn Jenner, Quincy Jones, Vanessa Williams, The Commodores with Lionel Richie, the Jacksons with Michael Jackson and a whole lot more A Listers. He is the author of the book…The Fame Game: An Insider’s Playbook for Earning Your 15 minutes.
After having invested 4 decades in playing the fame game, Ramon and I sat down to talk on The Motivation Show podcast.
Ramon, why do you call fame a “game” and why did you choose that word for your book title? “Fame is unpredictable, just as are the results in a game. Everyone has failures. You hope to win, but it is not guaranteed. Only .0065% of over 7 billion people in the world are famous. There are a lot of successful people in the world that never become famous. Fame and success don’t come with a warranty.”
What does Ramon feel about luck playing a role in success and fame? “I think there is a certain amount of luck in what I do. A lot of it is timing. Timing is a form of luck.” One example Ramon gives is when Starbucks started to introduce music in it’s cafes. The first one was Ray Charles, who died shortly thereafter, which skyrocketed sales of his music. That sales surge is what Ramon attributed to luck.
The pursuit of fame…is it mostly a positive goal? “Most people don’t know what fame is til they already become famous. A lot of stars change their mind about what they thought fame was going to be. A lot of people don’t like all the baggage that comes with being famous. The lack of privacy. In my time on the planet, it has definitely changed dramatically over the past ten years.” Ramon points to Social Media and it’s impact on more people having an opportunity to become famous in different ways than were available previously.
Why did Richard Pryor, at the height of his fame, attempt suicide & what was the famous incident which almost killed him that he later confessed to as a suicide attempt? “I managed all of Richard’s missteps. He was probably the #1 black entertainer in the world at that time. It’s not my fame. It’s their fame. I think Richard always felt guilty about his fame. He didn’t think he could live up to the level of fame that he achieved. That created an albatross around his neck. It made him rely on more substances to sedate him and calm himself. He reached the point that he did not want to become that person anymore. For the longest time he said that he didn’t (try to commit suicide), he said it was an accident. Richard always found a way to market his vulnerability. All of his comedy focused on all of his missteps. He had shot all four tires on his Mercedes and told his wife during a fight that you are not going to leave in that car. He put that into his comedy. He did it the exact opposite way of what we would advise which would be to put the incidences behind you. I don’t know anyone else that was as successful as him in marketing all of the things he did wrong.”
When asking Ramon about what type of confident personality one has to have to become famous he says, “I do believe you have to have a big ego and a certain amount of self confidence to be successful. Every famous person I met took a different path to get it and they all loss some level of fame at some point.”
Can you give us an example of someone you managed very well? “I am very proud of my relationship with Bette Midler. She helped to blossom my career. I was never her manager, but I was her publicist. I did work in a management capacity…she didn’t have a manager. I have a great appreciation and fondness for her. Also, working with my ex-wife Vanessa Williams on her crisis management. I did not know her at the time she was embroiled in the Miss America controversy. She resigned here title and I am glad she did. We got married and had three kids together and I managed her career. It took ten years for her to get her life back after she resigned from the Miss America pageant where she was just called Vanessa Williams without alluding to any prior controversy.”
In discussing his earlier years, Ramon shares two musical giants that helped shape his career. “In my book, I try to enlighten people about the trajectory of my own fame. My first client I got to work with was Paul McCartney. My initial task was to put together a press kit. That shaped my next 4 or 5 years when I got an opportunity to work with Quincy Jones who is the first client I brought to Rogers & Cowan who I was working with at the time. He was someone I treasured to be in his presence because he had so many great stories and so much great insight.”
Ramon muses in his book about fame, that the more you get, the harder it is to manage. I asked him if there are any other examples like that. “Probably the worst case scenario was Rick James. He had a very troubled childhood. For him, fame meant he put himself above people. He created a lot of bad blood. The way that he treated people. A lot of people did not want him to win. He always had a great fan base, but I think his fame was toxic for him. He self-destructed. He was obsessed with fame and all the hoopla and perks. He loved being the king of everything. He was very demanding. He did not know how to manage his fame.”
In closing, I ask Ramon, what he is most proud of. “I am proud of my reputation. I have never been sued. I’ve always approached business with a great deal of integrity. I’ve always worked really hard. I’ve always tried to be honest with my clients. Authentic and transparent. I think that is much better than being a yes man.”
So when I think of fame, I think of getting the best table in the best restaurants. I think about people idolizing me. I also think about people interrupting my conversation and my meal for photos and autographs. Do I really want that…or do I just want a nice, quiet, peaceful meal. Hmmm…some food for thought. How about you? Do you want to be part of the Fame Game?
You can listen to Eli’s podcast The Motivation Show on any podcast listening app or use this Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NVmTDAvGbzooN8TCW7tuN. To contact Eli or to have him speak at your event, email motivatea2z@gmail.com.
G.H. Harding
LASSO’S MOM CITY — I believe that the best ever episode of Ted Lasso was dropped this week, entitled Mom City. It started off innocently enough with Ted leaving for work and walking right past his mother! He realized it and turned back to her. Turns out she had been in London for a week and was just now seeing Ted.
Harry Nilsson
Also, Harry Nilsson’s “Puppy Song” was a key musical moment in the EP. Harry, we love you!
Joel Diamond
SHORT TAKES — The #1 iTunes song currently is Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do with It.” Much deserved … Producer Joel Diamond used to live at 220 Central Park South in NYC. His building was torn down and re-built. It is now part of what they call Billionaire’s Road. WSJ-reporter Katherine Clarke’s new book is about just that.. Via Random House, Billionaire’s Row is out on June 13 …
Sasha Prendes
We dropped the name of new Latino-artist Sasha Prendes last time; we just saw a teaser clip for her new video “Shake This.” Check it out here: https://www.sashaprendes.com/video … Micky Dolenz headlined at this week’s Abbey Road On The River and delivered his usual high-octane performance.
James Burton
He leaves for England this week for the James Burton & Friends/One Night Only event June 4 at London’s Palladium … Terry Jastrow interviewed by Brad Balfour for his podcast this week …
Whoopi Goldberg
ENDQUOTE: Via Deadline: The View’s Whoopi Goldberg Claims ‘American Idol’ Led To The Downfall of Society. Ouch! Check it out here: https://deadline.com/2023/05/the-view-cohost-whoopi-goldberg-claims-american-idol-led-to-downfall-society-1235380500/ … Happy Bday Buddy Blanch and Bobby Shaw!
G.H. Harding
TINA TURNER — Talk about a voice of a generation … my generation for sure. I think one of the first records I ever listened too was one from Ike & Tina Turner and Tina immediately caught my ear and eye. 1973’s “Nutbush City Limits” and later “Proud Mary.” Tina was simply dazzling. She passed Wednesday in Switzerland after a lengthy illness and surviving a stroke.
12 Grammys; 3 Grammy Hall of Fame awards; a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; the first Black artist and the first female to be on the cover of Rolling Stone; and, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. And she had her biggest hit when she was in her 40’s. Tina was a ground-breaker in every sense of the word.
From “Nutbush City Limits” to her stunning album, Private Dancer, she was a fierce innovator.
Tom Cuddy with Tina Turner
Author Mark Bego who did two tomes on Tina said: “The passing of rock legend Tina Turner is truly tragic. She was an amazing force of nature as a singer, performer, actress, and international inspiration. Having started out with ex-husband Ike Turner, as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960’s, Tina broke free from an abusive marriage with Ike, and became a solo legend on her own. I was privileged to tell her story in the books Tina Turner: Break Every Rule in 2003, and a German language update in 2009 called Tina Turner: Die Biografie. Her story, her legend, and her timeless music will live on.”
For those in the know: British-singer John Miles (“Slow Down”) toured with Tina in 1987. I knew Miles … great, great talent. Here she is with WOR’s Tom Cuddy, back when he was running WPLJ.
Paul Simon
SIMON OF THE TIMES — (Via Deadline) Singer-songwriter Paul Simon, who at 81 has just released his 15th studio album, titled Seven Psalms, has revealed a recent hearing loss in his left ear and says the condition has left him doubting he’ll tour again.
In an interview with UK’s The Times, Simon said the hearing loss struck while he was writing the new album. “Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he told the publication. “So everything became more difficult.”
The Graceland singer said he was more frustrated and annoyed than angered by the hearing loss “because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself.” The condition, however, has not improved, and he now has doubts that he’ll perform live again, a decision reinforced by both a 2020 bout with Covid and his lack of enthusiasm for singing some of his old songs.
“The songs of mine that I don’t want to sing live, I don’t sing them,” he told The Times. “Sometimes there are songs that I like and then at a certain point in a tour, I’ll say, ‘What the f*ck are you doing, Paul?’ Quite often that would come during ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ I’d think, ‘What are you doing? You’re like a Paul Simon cover band. You should get off the road, go home.’”
Simon, who lives on a large Texas ranch with wife Edie Brickell, reflected on the recent losses of Gordon Lightfoot and Jeff Beck, noting, “It’s just the age we’re at…My generation’s time is up.”
SHORT TAKES — Brutal review of HBO’s The Idol in Roger Friedman’s always prescient Showbiz 411. Friedman goes to great length to say that the machinations of the music business are not accurately portrayed in the show at all. Truth be told: They’ve never been accurately portrayed. To me, the closest they even came was in Martin Scorsese’s brilliant Vinyl. Euphoria’s Sam Levinson is the force behind this one and I didn’t have any desire to watch it. After reading Roger’s take on it, I probably never will. Check it out here: https://www.showbiz411.com/2023/05/22/cannes-hbo-unveils-the-idol-starring-the-weeknd-abel-tesfaye-and-lily-rose-depp-in-vulgar-gross-outsiders-take-on-pop-life…
Q1043 in NYC giving away DVDs of the recent Neil Bogart-inspired movie Spinning Gold. Sadly, when Justin Timberlake stepped away from portraying Bogart, this movie was DOA. It came out with nary a whisper, terrible reviews and was literally over in three days. I knew Bogart and this could have been a great, great movie. Sad for sure
Eppy; Robert Miller; and David Salidor
We wondered about Robert Miller’s Project Grand Slam (seen here with Eppy from My Father’s Place and PR-pasha David Salidor) and emailed him? No response so far. We’ll keep you posted … NBC just announced that The Blacklist finale will air -two hours- on Thursday, July 13. Suffice to say, it was a sensational show …
Bob Dylan
Happy BDay to Bob Dylan; Mike Myers; Cillian Murphy; and Frank Oz.
NAMES IN THE NEWS — Tony King; Mark Bego; Michael Leon; Adriana Kaegi; Tom & Lisa Cuddy; Mark Knopfler; Daryl Easlea; Russ Titleman; Donnie Kehr; Cori Gardner; Benny Harrison; Steve Walter; Jeff Smith; Vinnie Zuffante; Marion Curtis; Angela Tarantino; Michael Fuchs; Sasha Prendes; and ZIGGY!
My View: Clint Holmes Is In Town!
Golden Moments – Grand Weekend at Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic
Theatre News: Doubt: A Parable, Here Lies Love, Prayer for the French Republic, Eisenhower and Hell’s Kitchen
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Out of Town3 days agoMonty Python’s Spamalot Finds its Grail Hilariously at the Stratford Festival 2023
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Broadway5 days agoThe New Dramatists’ 71st Annual Benefit Luncheon and You are There
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Events3 days agoShakespeare Loose and Rollicking in Bryant Park
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Events5 days agoThe 2023 Excellence in Theatre Education Award
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Uncategorized4 days agoThe New Dramatists’ 71st Annual Benefit Luncheon With Josh Groban, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ban Platt and More
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Events5 days agoSummer of June
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Out of Town3 days agoStratford Festival’s King Lear 2023 Struggles in the Controlled Column of Rain
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Events5 days agoA Golden Night at InterContinental New York Barclay