TOM PETTY: Set to receive a big honor Friday night
Tom Petty will be honored tonight (Friday) in Los Angeles as the 2017 MusiCares Person of the Year. The annual event raises funds for the Recording Academy's MusiCares charity, which provides financial, medical and personal assistance to musicians in need.
The event will feature Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Norah Jones, Kings of Leon, Randy Newman, Lucinda Williams, Gary Clark Junior, George Strait, Jackson Browne, Elle King, Regina Spektor, The Bangles, The Lumineers, Petty's Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne and two sons of Wilburys - Dhani Harrison and Jakob Dylan. Petty and The Heartbreakers will close the night with a short set.
Petty says, "I am so very pleased to be honored... I have so much respect for this organization, which really does care about the people in our industry. I myself know many people who MusiCares has aided in desperate situations." Previous honorees include Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Don Henley, Sting, Bono and Billy Joel.
Tom Petty says his success with The Heartbreakers came because they stayed true to their music: "We've really tried to avoid show business as much as possible. We're just musicians. That's what it's based on. Even now I think that you've got to base it on music. I would really be bored if it was based on anything else."
BON JOVI: Here's an inside look at what you'll hear on the new tour
Bon Jovi kicked off their latest tour, in support of their 13th studio album, This House Is Not for Sale, Wednesday night in Greenville, South Carolina.
Although they performed the album in its entirety at a handful of special shows in the fall, in the tour opener they played just five of its 12 tracks, with the remainder being the hits.
The tour moves onto Atlanta on Friday, followed by Sunrise, Florida on Sunday.
Bon Jovi's opening night set list:
“This House Is Not for Sale”
“Knockout”
“You Give Love a Bad Name”
“Born to Be My Baby”
“We Weren’t Born to Follow”
“Lost Highway”
“Roller Coaster”
“Work for the Working Man”
“Because We Can”
“We Got It Goin’ On”
“Who Says You Can’t Go Home”
“It’s My Life”
“God Bless This Mess”
“Scars on This Guitar”
“The Devil’s in the Temple”
“Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night”
“Blood on Blood”
“Lay Your Hands on Me”
“Have a Nice Day”
“Bad Medicine”
“Keep the Faith”
“Always”
“Wanted Dead or Alive”
“Livin’ on a Prayer”
TOM JONES: Are he and Priscilla Presley an item?
Are Tom Jones and Priscilla Presley an item?
Various reports, including two of London's tabloids, hint that the blues-pop baritone and the one-time wife of the King of Rock and Roll are dating. The Sun even quotes Jones saying, "We have been friends for a long time. She’s a lovely lady. We do enjoy our nights out together."
Recently, they were spotted entering Craig's, a trendy West Hollywood restaurant.
It's no secret that Tom has known Priscilla for years. After all, he and Elvis became pals in the '70s when both frequently headlined in Las Vegas. So finding these two dining together, nearly a year after Tom's wife died, should not raise eyebrows.
FRANKIE VALLI: "Jersey Boys" isn't done (and neither is he)
While Frankie Valli calls the end of Jersey Boys' 11-year Broadway run "an emotional moment," he adds that "it's not over."
He tells Nashville's Tennessean the show is doing well in places where it never played before, such as Japan and Sweden. Along with a couple of traveling companies here in the States, it's also running in Britain.
What's next? The Four Seasons' voice adds, "They're talking about South America. And a lot of people are talking about the possibility of it going right back on Broadway again."
Valli isn't done with his career, either. Three months before turning 84, he says he's considering recording another album. "There's a couple of songs that I've been holding now for a couple of years that I think I'm gonna go in and play around with."
One thing he'll avoid is taking sides in an increasingly politicised country. Frankie says, "I want to be in this business to be a performer and an entertainer, a guy that goes out there and relieves the public of their daily problems for a couple of hours."