MUSIC NEWS

B.J. Thomas revealed that his doctors have diagnosed him as having stage four lung cancer. Thomas is receiving treatment in a local health care facility in Texas, and is hopeful for a complete recovery.

Johnny Lydon (the Sex Pistols, PIL, etc.) shopped for "Elvis attire" at Lansky's in the Peabody Hotel during his recent Memphis visit. Lydon told jungleroom.com that he was "bitterly disapointed about not working with Michelle Williams" after the cancelation of Andrew Llyod Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" arena tour...

Valerie June is conquering the world and Bob Dylan notices...

Claudia Lennear has been hired by Reese Witherspoon to consult on her "Daisy Jones and the Six" film project. Lennear is finishing work on her autobiography where she will share memories of recording at Willie Mitchell's studio with Ike and Tina Turner, being recruited by producer Don Nix to work on an Albert King album, introduced to a humble and shy Jimi Hendrix by Mick Jagger at Madison Square Garden while being tutored on delta blues from Keith Richards and Furry Lewis, singing with Jeanne Greene and the Muscle Shoals swampers, working with Clint Eastwood on his "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" film, backing up George Harrison at his "Concerts for Bangladesh", jamming at Eric Clapton's house with Dereck and the Dominoes, her friendship with bassist Duck Dunn and current projects with John Sebastian and Jackson Browne. The singer has "completed the lyrics to three songs" that David Bowie was writing the music for when he passed away. The singer explains that she "will complete the music Bowie and I started" and "will release a book about the special friendship I was privileged to share with David Bowie from the beginning of his career up to the last years of his life." In addition, she is "working on a CD of Americana music" and will "do a CD with Taj Mahal as producer to be released early next year."

Peter Frampton was amazing in concert and gracious offstage at the Orpheum theater in Memphis. Frampton Forgets the Words, the new studio album by The Peter Frampton Band, will be released April 23 via UMe. The album features instrumental tributes to some of Frampton's favorite songs and is the follow up to his 2007 Grammy Award-winning instrumental album, Fingerprints. ...read more>

Don McLean ('American Pie', etc.) made a rare Memphis appearance at the Graceland Soundstage. Before the concert, McLean told Jungleroom.com that "I will be at Graceland for a Fathers Day concert and I will sing 'And I Love You So,' a song I wrote which Elvis sang during the last year of his life," said McLean. "It also appears on his album, "Today", released in 1975."

What an amazing party courtesy of Deborah Cox at the Hallorean center after her performance in "The Bodyguard" musical. She has the most alluring, smooth and very Canadian voice and it was heartwarming to share a few stories about David Gest (her one-time fiancee) and Danny Capes (former agent for Peabo Bryson).

Blues music aficionados Linda Arcello Earl and her husband Roger Earl (the drummer/founding member of Foghat) enjoyed some great Memphis music at Earenstine and Hazel's...

It was a beautiful evening in Memphis with Gary Pihl of BOSTON --checking out the Live at the Garden crowd from backstage...

Freda Payne (remember her song "Band of Gold"?) was a part of the concert celebrating the launching of the David Gest foundation in London. Ms.Payne told Jungleroom.com: "I remember the times I spent at David's home overlooking the Mississippi in Memphis ...David and I had many good times as I was his best friend." Recently, producer Rodrigo Rios had the idea for Freda to cover "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and to sing it as a duet with Johnny Mathis. 0nce Mathis accepted, Rios turned to Grammy-winner Gordon Goodwin to pen the arrangement and bring in his Big Phat Band to accompany them...read more>

Sartoris Literary Group announces the release of Chips Moman: The Record Producer Whose Genius Changed American Music, available wherever fine books are sold. It will also be available online in various eBook editions. “I think the Chips Moman story has provided me with the best book I have written since Colonel Tom Parker, which was purchased by Warner Bros. for its Elvis film starring Tom Hanks," says author James L. Dickerson. "I anticipate great interest in a movie based on Moman’s story. Small wonder. He has been called the "Steve McQueen of the music business."

Snapped a quick photo at pre-show backstage hang before Steve Miller Band concert @ Memphis Botanic Garden: Parker Taylor (owner of Germantown Commissary), drummer Chad Cromwell (Joe Walsh, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, etc.), world class bassist Kenny Lee Lewis and the mighty "Hands of Soul" keyboardist Joseph Wooten from the Steve Miller Band...

Musician/songwriter Bruce Sudano (he has crafted songs for Brooklyn Dreams, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and his late wife Donna Summer) visited with Sirius XM Elvis Radio jock Doc Walker after conducting a songwriting masterclass for students at the Stax Academy...

Jim Peterik, the keyboardist/songwriter for Survivor (he wrote "Eye of the Tiger", "Burning Heart", "I Can't Hold Back" and "High On You" for Survivor, "Vehicle" for the Ides of March and other hits for Sammy Hagar, 38 Special, etc.) at the "Jam for Jimi Jamison Tribute" at the Hard Rock Cafe in Memphis...

Keep your eyes on amazing new guitarist Wil Bart. His band Johnny in the Basement finished recording their forthcoming EP "I'll Have What He's Having" with producer/musician Luther Dickinson at Zebra Ranch Studios...

Friends from the recording industry and music business gathered at newly re-christened Power Station at BerkleeNYC, where Berklee presented its American Master Award to Tony Bongiovi, founder of the original Power Station Studios. He was recognized for his lifetime of work in the industry as a record producer and studio engineer, and for his groundbreaking studio design. Grammy-winning musician Nile Rodgers, comedian Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling, and bassist with the house band on the Late Show with David Letterman Will Lee spoke in Bongiovi's honor.

Congatulations to actress/writer Densie Nicholas ("Room 222", "In the Heat of the Night", "Let's Do It Again", etc.): her play "Freedom Summer" will premier with the Crossroads Theatre Company of New Brunswick, NJ in 2020! Ms.Nicholas shared a "Memphis memory" with jungleroom.com:

"My Memphis memory: en route to attend writers conference at Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley's estate in Mississippi a few years ago and stopped in Memphis.. visited STAX Museum, sat down to view Otis Redding concert film. It was so powerful, so raw & so deep & soulful, I slid off my chair onto the floor! Music sees me through many of life's more challenging episodes!!

World-class guitarist Pat Thrall (Beyonce, Meat Loaf, Chaka Khan, Asia, Pat Travers, etc.) reminisces with Jungleroom.com about working on Tina Turner's song "The Best" for producer Dan Hartman in 1989...read more

Brian May spoke to Jungleroom.com about his contribution to Going Down: the songs of Don Nix: "Oh yes, I'd completely forgotten. I played on this track many months ago. It was a "quickie"-i've always liked the song and of course, Jeff Beck made it his own, and still enjoys playing it. The whole Don Nix track (in fact, the whole album) is recorded very real and live and informal, so I was pleased to be invited to have a blast on it and help."

Steve Fossen, the original bassist in Heart shares some insight into the early days of the band with Jungleroom.com. "Heart started out as The Army in 1967 (October 1968 we became Whiteheart ... October 1969 we shortened the name to Heart). Roger (Fisher) and I met Ann in August of of 1971 ... we all played in a band called Hocus Pocus until December 1971. On April 21, 1972, we changed our band name back to Heart. Nancy joined us in 1974. "Dreamboat Annie" was recorded in 1975 released in America February 1976.

I asked Bob Tait if he remembered playing at Peaches Records with a group named Wyzard. "You are the you the first person I've heard mention that band in years," he said. "Wyzard was Debra Preston (who later became Debra Dejean) on vocals, Delmar Preston on guitar, myself on bass and Chuck Bratton on drums. We opened for Meatloaf at the Ritz on Madison avenue the first time he appeared in Memphis on the "Bat out of Hell" tour. We opened for alot of bands coming thru memphis and bigger bands from here. Today, Bob plays bass in 5 O'Clock Shadow with Gary Hagar and Bill Parsley.