Frampton's All Instrumental Album The following are major new and upcoming releases by veteran artists (first release in 2001 or before).   April 23, 2021 California Music (including members of the Beach Boys & their children) -  Add Some Music Steve Cropper -  Fire It Up Dinosaur, Jr. -  Sweep It Into Space Dumpstafunk - Where Do We Go From Here Peter Frampton -  Frampton Forgets the Words Richie Furay -  50th Anniversary Return to the Troubadour Gang of Four -  77-81 Immediate Family (Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Steve Postell) - Can't Stop Progress L7 - Wargasm:  The Slash Years 1992-1997 John Lennon -  Plastic Ono Band Motorhead -  Louder Than Noise...Live in Berlin Selecter - Too Much Pressure: Deluxe Edition Todd Snider -  First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder Al Stewart -  Year of the Cat: Remastered & Expanded Edition Van Halen -  The Van Halen Story: The Early Years Who -  The Who Sell Out  (5 CD) Various Artists -  Riding the R

Les McKeown, the lead singer of the Bay City Rollers, died on Tuesday, April 20. He was 65 years old.   The Rollers had ten top ten hits in the U.K. in the late 70's, including two number ones.  In the U.S., they only hit the top ten twice including the chart topping "Saturday Night".  Here are the ten biggest hits for the group in the U.S. and U.K.  1. Saturday Night (1975 / #1 U.S.) 2. Money Honey (1975 / #9 U.S. / #3 U.K.) 3. I Only Want to Be With You (1976 / #12 U.S. / #27 AC / #4 U.K.) 4. Bye Bye Baby (1975 / #1 U.K.) 5. Give a Little Love (1975 / #1 U.K.) 6. You Made Me Believe in Magic (1977 / #10 U.S. / #34 U.K.) 7. Shang-a-Lang (1974 / #2 U.K.) 8. Summerlove Sensation (1974 / #3 U.K.) 9. Love Me Like I Love You (1976 / #4 U.K.) 10. The Way I Feel Tonight (1977 / #24 U.S. / #16 AC)

Out April 23 Renaissance are proud to announce the release of their Blu-ray/DVD/2CD set of the 50th Anniversary Concert at The Keswick Theatre in Glenside PA, USA on October 12th 2019, featuring their own 10-piece Renaissance Chamber Orchestra and with special guest Renaissance co-founder Jim McCarty. It is time to celebrate the culmination of the bands widespread touring and recording over the past 50 years with their first high-definition concert film and Blu-ray release. Renaissance featuring lead singer Annie Haslam performed an impressive concert of high quality musicianship alongside a magical backdrop of paintings for each song in the show, created by Annie. The combination was stunning. The concert film is a retrospective celebration of Renaissance classics songs, some of which have never been orchestrated before, including their most notably “Ashes Are Burning”! Annie Haslam says: I am so proud I was chosen to be lead singer in this incredibly unique band and to have witnessed

Jim Steinman (1947 - 2021) Jim Steinman, one of the most distinctive songwriters ever, has died at the age of 73 from kidney failure.   Almost every song written by Steinman had a distinctive style with multiple structural sections that built to a huge crescendo.  While best known for his writing for Meat Loaf, he also had hits with the likes of Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Air Supply, Barry Manilow, Nicki French, Boyzone and others.   Steinman also collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Weber on the musical "Whistle Down the Wind".  Here are Steinman's biggest hits on the U.S. and British charts. 1. I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) - Meat Loaf (1993 / #1 Pop / #9 AC / #10 Rock / #1 UK) 2. Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler (1983 / #1 Pop / #7 AC / #23 Rock / #1 Britain) 3. It's All Coming Back to Me Now - Celine Dion (1996 / #2 Pop / #1 AC / #15 Dance / #3 UK) 4. Total Eclipse of the Heart - Nicki French (199

Joe Long (Top Right) of the Four Seasons April 22 Shock G (born Gregory Jacobs) of Digital Underground (b. 1963) April 20 Joe Long of the Four Seasons - COVID (b. 1941) Les McKeown of the Bay City Rollers (b. 1955) April 19 Jim Steinman , songwriter - Kidney failure (b. 1947) Bob Lanois , Engineer & producer  April 18 Paul Oscher  of The Muddy Waters Band (b. 1947) Lew Lewis of Eddie & the Hotrods April 17 Black Rob (born Robert Ross) - Kidney failure (b. 1969) April 16 Mike Mitchell of the Kingsmen (b. 1944) April 15 Pat Rizzo , Saxophone for Sly & the Family Stone, War - Cancer (b. 1941) April 14 Rusty Young of Poco - Heart attack (b. 1946) Michel Louvain - Esophageal cancer (b. 1937) April 9 DMX (born Earl Simmons) - Overdose (b. 1970) April 7 Bill Owens , Songwriter (age 85) April 4 Ralph Schuckett of Todd Rundgren's Utopia (b. 1948) Paul Humphrey of Blue Peter (b. 1960) April 2 Morris "B.B." Dickerson of War (b. 1949) April 1 Patrick Juvet (b

The following are major new and upcoming releases by veteran artists (first release in 2001 or before).   April 16, 2021 Tracy Bonham & the Melodeon Music Project - Young Maestros, Vol. 1 Cannibal Corpse -  Violence Unimagined Bob Dylan - The Early Years, Rarities Vol. 1 Bob Dylan - The Early Years, Rarities Vol. 2 Goo Goo Dolls - EP 21 Engelbert Humperdinck - Sentiments Jean-Michel Jarre -  Amazonia Jethro Tull -  "A" (a la Mode): 40th Anniversary Edition Norah Jones -  'Til We Meet Again: Live Offspring -  Let the Bad Times Roll Freda Payne - Let There Be Love Tom Petty -  Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) Busta Rhymes - The Coming: Deluxe Edition Saga - The Best of Saga: All Hits Since 1978 Searchers - A & B Sides 1963-1967 Peggy Seeger - First Farewell Johnny Thunders - After the Dolls 1977-1987 Robin Trower, Maxi Priest & Livingston Brown -  United State of Mind Lucinda Williams -  Runnin’ Down a Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty Mary Wilson - Mary Wil

Out Now Internationally renowned singer, Freda Payne, known for her 1970's hit R&B Number 1 Gold Record, "Band of Gold," is releasing her first studio album in 5 years on April 16. The announcement was officially confirmed by Alain Franke Records who will be releasing this Jazz Big-Band album. This is Freda Payne's 26th album.  The album is big in scope, expense and very lush sounding. Song arrangements are by Grammy winner composer-conductor, Gordon Goodwin. It is an ambitious project to have an analog classic sound with live musicians, recorded in late 2019 by Producers Rodrigo Rios and Michael Goetz. The idea was to get the Freda Payne sound with a real 30 piece orchestra and see what it would be like to pair her up with other great jazz singers in a series of newly arranged classic Jazz Standards songs from the American Songbook. The other recording artists on, "Let There Be Love," are the veteran jazz greats: Johnny Mathis, DeeDee Bridgewater, Kurt

Available Now In a special arrangement with Buck Owens Enterprises, Omnivore Recordings is proud to present original, vintage Buck Owens- and Bakersfield-related LPs and 45s direct from Buck’s very own vaults. Over the years, the country music great collected a sizable number of his albums and singles for his own use, Besides copies of his own albums, he also kept quantities of releases by other artists in his stable. All these unplayed records have been sitting untouched in Bakersfield since they were originally issued. Omnivore has offered vintage Buck LPs before, but is now adding 45s and original, vintage records by Don Rich, Susan Raye, Buddy Alan, The Buckaroos, Bakersfield Brass and more! And, some of the albums that sold out in the last offering will be replenished (for the last time). These are never-before-played long players and singles, most dating back to Nashville West’s most successful era and the height of the Bakersfield sound in the ’60s and ’70s. From Limited-Edi

Out May 28 Last week saw the 50th anniversary of the original UK release of The Man Who Sold The World, David Bowie’s landmark entry into the 1970s. The album began the collaboration with guitarist Mick Ronson that would continue with such Bowie classics as Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. The 2020 re-release of The Man Who Sold The World restored the album’s intended title Metrobolist, while featuring a new mix by original producer Tony Visconti. Taking its name from the album’s opening track, which was named after a painting by Bowie’s friend George Underwood, the new two-CD set The Width Of A Circle acts as a complementary piece to that album. Its 21 tracks feature non-album singles, a BBC In Concert session, music for a TV play and further Visconti remixes wrapping up David’s recordings from 1970 and revealing the first sonic steps toward Hunky Dory. Also released on 28th May is a picture disc version of The Man Who Sold The World album, featuring the striking black and

Queen Returns to the Top Veteran Spot The following are the top albums by veteran artists (recording for twenty years or more) on this week's Billboard charts (April 17, 2021).  Actual chart position is in parenthesis: Greatest Hits  -  Queen  (#22) Rumours  -  Fleetwood Mac  (#27) Legend  -  Bob Marley & the Wailers  (#38) Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits  -  Creedence Clearwater Revival  (#39) Diamonds  -  Elton John  (#45) Curtain Call: The Hits  -  Eminem  (#46) 1  -  Beatles  (#53) Greatest Hits  -  Journey  (#59) Back in Black  - AC/DC  (#61) Music to Be Murdered By  -  Eminem  (#67) There were no veteran artist debuts this week.  In addition, Evanescence' The Bitter Truth , which debuted at number 11 last week, fell completely out of the Top 200.  The top charting singles by veteran artists: Beautiful Mistakes  -  Maroon 5  featuring Megan Thee Stallion (#25) One Too Many  -  Keith Urban  Duet With  P!nk  (#88) Lil Bit  - Nelly  & Florida Georgia Line (#93) Girl L

Special Jury Award Winner The life of Trini Lopez, groundbreaking Mexican American recording artist, guitarist and actor, is explored in the film My Name Is Lopez. The feature length documentary had its world premiere at the opening night gala of the 2021 American Documentary and Animation Film Festival (AmDocs2021) in Palm Springs, CA last month. It has just been announced that My Name Is Lopez is the recipient of the festival’s Special Jury Award, winning as Best U.S. Documentary. Teddy Grouya, AmDocs Founder and Director commented, “There were a wide variety of films for our judges to choose from in the National Feature Category at the 10th Annual American Documentary And Animation Film Festival. The judges, who came from Spain, Czech Republic and Italy, were unanimous in picking one of their favorites among the breadth of subjects and so chose My Name Is Lopez to receive the Special Jury Award. Such an acknowledgement by judges from outside of the U.S. gives this new work by the

Out April 30 John Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues, and inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is to release a new digital single entitled “The Sun Will Shine” on April 30th 2021. Pre-orders available from April 9th. The song was written and recorded by John whilst he was ‘in isolation’ in Florida, and he took hope and inspiration from watching the sunrise every morning over ‘Cocahatchee Bay’. For John, the song is a reminder that we can choose to see the world, and the challenges we all face, in a positive way… because the sun will shine again. The song is performed by John and his ‘10,000 Light Years Band’, who recorded remotely due to the pandemic. The track also features Jon Davison from YES on backing vocals, continuing their ongoing collaborations. The song will be part of the EP “On Reflection” that is due to be incorporated into “The Royal Affair and After”, John’s new live album scheduled for release in September 2021. “On Reflecti