#104 Mar. 27, 2012: Rock Hall inductees Rod Stewart & The Faces, The Red Hot Chili Peppers & Guns N' Roses; Barry Manilow; James Taylor & Mary Chapin Carpenter; Aerosmith & Cheap Trick; The Beatles; Eric Clapton; Aretha Franklin; El Debarge; Willie Nelson & his friends; Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommy & soul legend Bobby Womack; Gregg Allman; former King Crimson & ELP singer Greg Lake; Whitney Houston; former Vanilla Fudge bassist Tim Bogert; Martha Reeves - and more!

Will Rod/Faces, Chili Peppers or GNR reunite at Rock Hall induction?

Rod Stewart will perform in public with his old band, The Faces, for only the second time since they broke up in 1975 when they’re inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on April 14, reports Britain’s New Musical Express.  The surviving members last played in public at the Brit Awards in 1993 when Stewart was giving its Lifetime Achievement Award. 

In an interview with MusicRadar, Faces drummer Kenny Jones said, “We’re all still great mates and we’ve never said we wouldn’t play together again. We all had dinner about a month ago and decided that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would be the perfect time and place.”

Jones also noted that Stewart and the band that also includes guitarist Ron Wood and keyboardist Ian McLagan, rehearsed in private three years ago, “just to see if the magic was still there – and it was.” but Stewart’s schedule, including an extensive long-term engagement in Las Vegas, wouldn’t allow for any concerts. So, over the past couple years The Faces have tour the U.K., Europe and Asia with former Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall and ex-Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers will be inducted without the presence or participation of former guitarist John Frusciante, an integral member who was in the band twice, from 1988-92 and again from 1998 to 2009. Both were periods of intense concert and studio activity, resulting in several hit albums.

Drummer Chad Smith told Billboard, “He didn’t feel comfortable, which we totally respect. We asked him.” Smith added, “He’s the kind of guy, I think, that once he’s finished with something he’s just on to the next phase of his life. The Chili Peppers are really not on his radar right now.”

Alas, it doesn’t appear that another band set to be inducted that night, Guns N’ Roses, will not reunite in performance at the ceremony, even though it does look as though all of the original members will attend. Original guitarist Slash, who just released a new solo single, “You’re a Lie,” tells the Canada’s QMI, “We’re not playing.” He says that group is in his past, saying, “it’s been so long since I had anything to do with Guns N’ Roses…I would imagine that they (the Hall braintrust) asked us to play, but I know that we’re not playing.” Slash and GNR frontman Axl Rose haven’t performed together since 1993.

In other GNR news, the band’s “Greatest Hits” CD found itself at No. 3 on the Billboard Album chart because Google Play and Amazon MP3 both offered the album for 25 cents. Billboard recently instituted a new rule disallowing any new album on its charts that sells for less than $3.99, but since this isn’t a new album, but rather an older catalog “product,” it counts.   

Manilow recoups & still performs in pain

Barry Manilow continues to recover from surgery to reattach his hip muscles to both of his 69-year-old hips, his second hip surgery in six years. However, he’s still performed half-a-dozen concerts.

In a Rolling Stone interview, the hip-swiveling “Copacabana” guy says of his painful recuperation, “It’s coming along slowly – too slowly for me. But I was able to get through six shows. (However) as soon as I finished, the curtain would close and I’d fall back into a wheelchair.”

When asked if there’s anyone he’d like to tour with, he listed a few. “There have only been a handful that make sense, like Elton John and Billy Joel make sense. The only other two artists I could think of would be Neil Diamond and Bette (Midler, for whom he served as pianist and music director early in her career). Other than that, I’ve never been able to come up with another name.”

For the past few years, Manilow mostly restricted his performing to his residency at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is headlining the big Fourth of July extravaganza, July 2-4, at the Hollywood Bowl that will see him backed by the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra. 

James Taylor joins Mary Chapin Carpenter

James Taylor joins country folk-rocker Mary Chapin Carpenter on her upcoming 12^th studio album, “Ashes and Roses,” that will be released June 12, according to the Boot.  Taylor joins the five-time Grammy-winning songstress, who has racked up more than 13 million album sales since 1987, on a new composition she wrote, “Soul Companion.”

At the end of April, Carpenter and her old friend Shawn Colvin will tour together for the first time as a duo. The brief eight-date tour takes place in venues across the country. On August 19, she’ll perform with Arlo Guthrie at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the oldest music festival in the country (it began in 1911).

Taylor begins a European tour this week. His 20-concert jaunt ends May 18 in Reykjavik, Iceland. After taking a month off, he’ll then undertake a 22-date tour of America east of the Mississippi that kicks off on June 20 in Pittsburgh.

Aerosmith & Cheap Trick rock together

Aerosmith, having patched up their differences with singer-“American Idol” host Steven Tyler, will embark on it “Global Warming” summer tour of America with opening act Cheap Trick. So far, only the first leg of the tour has been announced. Included in the initial 18 shows is an August 6 gig at the Hollywood Bowl.

Beatles homes make news

Homes owned by The Beatles are making news. It’s well known that since the early ‘70s, George Harrison owned the fabled 120-room Victorian mansion and estate known as Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames, England, that features 34 acres of lakes and gardens. His widow Olivia and son Dhani continue to reside there.

It’s also well know that he owned a secluded mile-long, 63-acre beach-front enclave on the northern coast of east Maui in Hawaii.

Lesser known is his six-acre South Pacific compound on Hamilton Island in Australia, an island that his pal Grand Prix racer Jackie Stewart told him about. In 2007, Olivia told architectural Digest, “Jackie knew about Hamilton Island. It was underdeveloped, with only one bungalow on the entire island. It was pristine and stunning – just what George was looking for.” Of her intensely private husband who had long since tired of the crowds and adulation, “I had the feeling that he maxed the planet out, looking for solitude. It was ‘How far away can I get?’.”

What was known by very few is that in the months prior to his death in 2001, George and Olivia purchased a 1.6-acre estate with a palatial Romanesque mansion at the summit of Montagnola in Ticino, Switzerland with panoramic views of Lake Lugano and the Swiss Alps for approximately $15 million. This is where he underwent his last cancer treatments and spent most of the final months of his life. 

The six-bedroom, four-floor mansion has been put on the market. As Britain’s Daily Mail writes, “If you have to ask how much, you can’t afford it.” The paper says the estate has a “massive” wine cellar, a Roman-style swimming pool complete with fountains and classical-style statues.

The boyhood Liverpool homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney were listed as historically important British buildings and cannot be altered in any way without government permission, notes Huffington Post U.K. The residences are Lennon’s on Menlove Ave., where he first learned to play guitar, and the McCartney house on Forthlin Rd., where Sir Paul lived for nine years, and where The Beatles rehearsed. Both homes are now managed by the National Trust. The homes in which Harrison and Ringo Starr grew up were not listed.

Clapton buys a car – and what a car!

Eric Clapton has a new car. It’s a Ferrari, but not any Ferrari that can be acquired down at the local dealership. Clapton, who owns a well-known collection of some of the world’s most expensive Ferrari’s ever built, has added a one-of-a-kind model that the auto maker vows to never duplicate.

He paid a record $4.8 million for it; six times the cost of the previously most expensive car produced the Italian car company, according to Fox News. The 66-year-old guitar deity helped design it to his exact specifications, working with Ferrari’s Special Projects division.

Designed as a homage vehicle to ‘70s Ferrari 512 that is reportedly one of Clapton’s favorite models, his new toy has a license plate reading SP 12 EPC, for Special Projects, the year, and his initials (Patrick is his middle name)

Aretha celebrates 70^th with new deal

Aretha Franklin, who overcame life-threatening illness last year, celebrated her 70^th birthday by announcing that she is leaving her longtime record company, Atlantic, and will rejoin Clive Davis and his Arista Records, according to her hometown Detroit Free Press. Davis played a major role in her successful comeback in the ‘80s. The two will collaborate on a new album.

In other Franklin news, the First Lady of Soul says her doctors are still trying to figure out what’s been causing the painful leg spasms that made it impossible to attend and perform at Whitney Houston’s funeral. She told Access Hollywood that she is going to have an MRI and X-rays taken.

Also, Franklin told AP that her planned biopic is on hold. “It’s in a limbo position. It’s just a lot going on.” She hinted that Taylor Hackford might direct. Among those she thought could portray her is Jennifer Hudson. The singer has three concerts on her schedule in April and May in Cleveland, Kansas City and on Staten Island in New York City.

On April 14, she’ll receive TV Land’s Music Icon Award in New York City. It’s anticipated that she’ll perform on the show that will be broadcast on April 29. Previous awardees include Lionel Ritchie, Blondie, Hall & Oates and Earth, Wind and Fire.

El Debarge not charged

R&B idol El Debarge, 50, who has a history of drug abuse, will not be charged with possession of rock cocaine by the L.A. District Attorney, according to TMZ. The smooth singer known for his trademark falsetto was arrested in Encino and released on $30,000 bail.  According to reports, even though police caught Debarge selling the drugs to another man, it was decided that he wouldn’t be charged due to insufficient evidence.

Willie and friends

“Heroes,” the latest album from Willie Nelson, sees the 78-year-old joined by a diverse group of artists on a diverse song lineup, according to CMT. Among those helping out on the album that will be released on May 15 are Ray Price, Snoop Dogg, and fellow Outlaw Country greats Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson and Billy Joe Shaver. Nelson covers the ‘30s ballad, “My Window Faces the South,” and two ‘40s songs by Fred Rose, “Home in San Antone” and “Cold War With You” as well as Coldplay’s “The Scientist” and “Just Breathe,” from Pearl Jam.

In other Nelson news, the Texan rescued a pair of horses in South Carolina that were abused and neglected by its owner, reports the Summerville Patch. The horses were severely underweight and had kerosene burns from when the owner tried to cure a fungus on their backs. While both horses have regained weight and their wounds are healing, the pair won’t be transported to Nelson’ ranch in Texas until they’ve made a bit more progress.

Iommi & Womack cancer updates

In a post on his website, Black Sabbath guitarist Toni Iommi said he’s received his last dose of chemotherapy. “Hopefully my body will start to get back to normal soon, the steroids were the worst.”

However, the 64-year-old native of Birmingham, England, reports that he’s got three weeks of radiotherapy ahead. “I’m told (it) can be very tiring.” He notes that he and fellow Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler were able to continue to record Osbourne’s first Sabbath album since the ‘80s. “We managed to work most days and have some great new tracks.”

Another Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, 68-year-old soul great Bobby Womack, is battling stage 1 colon cancer, and was just released from a Houston hospital where he successfully overcame a bout of pneumonia, according to his friend, fellow Rock Hall member Bootsy Collins. 

Among his accomplishments, Womack wrote “It’s All Over Now,” that became the first No. 1 hit in England for The Rolling Stones in 1964. The Palm Beach Post reports that Womack is due to have surgery but the date wasn’t noted. Womack, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, will release his first album in a decade, “The Bravest Man in the Universe,” in June, the same month that he’s scheduled to perform in Houston and London.  

Gregg Allman’s bad back

Every year, The Allman Brothers stage a lengthy concert residency at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. During the ninth of the band’s ten Beacon shows, singer-organist Gregg Allman had to leave the stage. Thirty minutes before the show’s end, Allman experienced what was termed “excruciating pain” from a bulging disc in his back and was taken to the hospital. His back pain forced him to miss the tenth show as well. An Allman management spokesman said that Allman returned to his home in Savannah, Georgia, “for evaluation and treatment. His condition is day to day, and he expects to meet all his confirmed obligations.” Allman and band are set to play two sets at the Wanee Festival in Live Oak, Florida, on April 20 and 21.

Greg Lake’s “Songs for a Lifetime”

Former Emerson, Lake and Palmer singer-bassist-guitarist Greg Lake will undertake an intimate 24-date solo tour of America beginning on April 15 in Boston. The show, “Songs of a Lifetime,” follows the autobiographical storytelling format of last year’s tour with ELP mate Keith Emerson that will also include a question and answer segment. Lake promises an evening full of music from ELP and his first major band, King Crimson. His autobiography will be released in book format at the end of the year. Lake’s tour stops at the Ventura Theatre onMay17 and the Orpheum in Downtown L.A. on May 18, and the La Quinta Resort and Spa on May 26 that will end the tour.

Whitney Houston’s CDs chart

The late Whitney Houston has seven albums on the Billboard Hot 100 Album chart, including three in the Top 20. “Whitney: The Greatest Hits” is at No. 6; “I Look to You” is No. 17 and her soundtrack to “The Bodyguard” is at No. 20.

Tim Bogert retires

Veteran bassist Tim Bogert, whose five-decade career dates to his days with heavy metal forefathers Vanilla Fudge in 1967 and continued with the supergroup Cactus and Beck, Bogert & Appice that featured fellow Vanilla Fudge member Carmine Appice and British Invasion guitar great Jeff Beck, has retired, according to KHTS 1220AM.

Valencia resident Bogert, 67, called it a day with a free afternoon performance in the Courtyard at the Valencia Marriott that saw him joined by a local band that was dubbed Mojo & The Magnetics that featured another British Invasion star, guitarist-singer Spencer Davis, as well as members and former members of Santana, Foreigner, Supertramp, Jack Mack & The Heart Attack and Toad the Wet Sprocket.  

In 1967, Bogert and Vanilla Fudge produced a heavy, psychedelic version of The Supremes’ 1965 No. 1 hit “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” that they took to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also recorded and toured in 1981 with former McCoys leader Rick Derringer.  Of his valedictory performance, Bogert said, “I really enjoyed it.”

Recent CDs

Among the recently released new CDs and releases and deluxe releases are “Muscle Beach Party: The United Artists Sessions” from Frankie Avalon; “Great Gypsy Soul” from Tommy Bolin; The Cowboy Junkies’ “Wilderness”; a 2-CD, “En Vivo!,” from Iron Maiden; “Tuskegee,” Lionel Ritchie’s debut foray into country music; “Beginnings” from Rick Springfield” a 2-CD,

“Young & Rich/Now” from The Tubes; a 2-CD, “I Feel So Far Away: Anthology 1974-1998,” from former Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker, aka Maureen Tucker; “Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions,” from Billy Bragg & Wilco; “Hot Streets: Expanded Edition,” from Chicago; and “Sonik Kicks,” from former Jam and Style Council leader Paul Weller.

Now Playing

Classic acts from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s continue to perform. Here’s what some of them are doing.

Motown legend Martha Reeves was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In the ‘60s, Reeves fronted The Vandellas and took them to the top with such classics as “Nowhere to Run,” “Dancing in the Street,” and “(Love is Like a) Heat Wave,” actually stopped performing between 2005-2009 because she was elected to the Detroit City Council.  In 2010, at the conclusion of her term, she was back, performing 50 shows. The 70-year-old soul belter will perform at Anthology in San Diego on April 6.