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Daily Music News Report for 07/18/2016


Country Music Icon Bonnie Brown Dead At 77

(Webster) Country music icon Bonnie Brown Ring of the legendary group The Browns died on Saturday, July 16th) at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas following complications from lung cancer. She was 77 years old. Webster sent over the following details about her acclaimed career:

Born July 31, 1938 in Sparkman, Arkansas, Brown became enamored with music at an early age - thanks to the exposure she had to it from watching her older siblings, Maxine and James Edward. The two performed together, earning a hit in 1954 with "Looking Back To See." Upon her graduation from high school, Bonnie joined her siblings, expanding their duet into a trio.

They began performing together on The Louisiana Hayride on KWKH in Shreveport, which led to appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. Chet Atkins and RCA came calling soon after, and the Browns found themselves on the chart with hits such as "I Take The Chance" and "I Heard The Bluebirds Sing." James Edward (now known as Jim Ed) was drafted in 1957, but the trio still managed to find time to record when he was on leave.

By 1959, the group recorded what would turn out to be one of the biggest hits of the era in "The Three Bells." The song topped the Billboard Country charts - their first, and also crossed over to the apex of the Hot 100. The exposure of that hit led to appearances on every major variety series of the day, such as The Ed Sullivan Show. With her southern charm and stunning looks, Brown attracted the attention of many of the hottest male artists of the day, including Elvis Presley. The hits continued, with "Scarlet Ribbons," "The Old Lamplighter," and "Then I'll Stop Loving You" all being showcases for their rich harmonies, where Bonnie sang the high harmony parts. The Grand Ole Opry came calling in 1963, inviting The Browns to become members. Read more here.

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Rory Feek Fulfills One Of Joey's Final Wishes

Rory Feek revealed in a new blog posting that he fulfilled one of the final wishes of his late wife and Joey + Rory music partner Joey Feek, who died of cervical cancer earlier this year.

In new post on his This Life I Live blog, Rory writes, "On Monday, we got home from spending some time out west in Wyoming and Montana. It was a trip that has been planned since last winter. But I didn't plan it� my wife did.

"This past February, with snow on the ground outside her window at the little house by the Gaither pond in Indiana, Joey looked at the beautiful view from her bedside, and remembered another view that she loved. And then with her three sisters gathered around her, Joey told stories about our trips out west to the Big Sky Country. She showed them pictures we had taken during some of the adventures our family has had out there over the years. And then she asked me to find a way to take her three sisters and their families out west for the first time this summer.

"Most of them had never been farther west than Illinois and Joey wanted them to experience some of the breathtaking beauty that she and I have been blessed to experience many times over the years. For their eyes to see the beautiful things that her eyes had seen.

"Joey and I spent our honeymoon in Montana in 2002 and fell in love with the mountains and the old-west history that runs deep through the land and streams out there. We've made many family trips there since and our middle daughter Hopie even spent three summers working on a ranch in Dubois.

"Fortunately, we have some wonderful friends who own a big cabin in Red Lodge, Montana and when I told them about Joey's wish, they generously offered to let us all come stay at their place�

"So two weeks ago, my three sister-in-laws - Jody, Julie and Jessie - loaded up their minivans and trucks and headed west, and the girls and I hopped on an airplane and met up with them in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to spend a few days together before we all drove on to Red Lodge." Read more and see all of the photos here.

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Tom Hiddleston Confirms Relationship With Taylor Swift

Actor Tom Hiddleston has confirmed the rumors that he is romantically involved with country turned pop superstar Taylor Swift, ending wild speculation about the couple.

The rumors began soon after Swift had broken up with EDM star Calvin Harris, even going as far as reports that the gossip about the relationship might be a publicity stunt.

Hiddleston put that all to rest with two recent interviews. He told MTV "We are together and we're very happy" and confirmed that it is a real relationship to the Hollywood Reporter, telling the publication (via Taste Of Country) "That's the truth. It's not a publicity stunt."

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Hailee Steinfeld Reveals Zedd Collaboration 'Starving'

Hailee Steinfeld has released her latest single, entitled "Starving", which is a collaboration with DJ/producer Zedd and the production duo Grey. We were sent the following details about how the collaboration came about.

"Zedd and I have been friends for a while now, so we've been wanting to collaborate," said Steinfeld. "He called me up, and said he'd just finished a track he wanted me to hear. I rushed to the studio and immediately fell in love with the song.

"The next day he introduced me to Grey, and we began recording right then and there. We knew we had something special, because it all happened so fast and with such ease. It was so fun, and pretty amazing, to have this chance to work closely with friends who are so immensely talented. We couldn't be more excited about it."

Grey adds, "It's always great to collaborate with artists at the top of their game. We couldn't be happier that we had the opportunity to work with Zedd and Hailee for our first official release!"

Steinfeld debuted the song live last week during the kick off of Meghan Trainor's The Untouchable Tour in Boise, ID. Check out the online stream of the song here.

Steinfeld will be on the road with Trainor until September 25th when the tour wraps up in Boston, MA at the Blue Hills Bank Pavillion. See the tour dates here.

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Zayn Malik and Snakehips Release New Single 'Cruel'

(Radio.com) Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik features in a new collaboration with the British electronic pop duo Snakehips on their new single 'Cruel," which was released on Friday. Radio.com had these details:

The song features lyrics that are both steamy and resentful: 'Back where we left off/ Watch you take your dress off/ I've been by myself remembering you/ Your body hurts me/ Loopin' 'round like CCTV/ In all this bitterness you stay so sweet," Zayn sings.

Snakehips, consisting of Oliver Lee and James Carter, is working on a full-length album that will feature the Zayn collab, and other previously released tracks with Tinashe, Chance the Rapper, Anderson Paak and others, reported Billboard. Read more here.

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Gavin DeGraw Streams New Track, Announces Album

Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw excited fans on Friday by releasing a new single and announced the release of his new studio album, which will be released on September 9th.

The new album will be entitled "Something Worth Saving" and DeGraw gave fans an early taste of the effort with release of the new single called "She Sets The City On Fire". Check out the lyric video for the track here.

DeGraw will be promoting the effort on a North American coheadlining tour with Andy Grammer which is set to kick off on August 28th in Bethel, NY at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

The previously announce tour will hit several cities across the U.S. before wrapping up on November 9th in Boca Raton, FL at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. See the tour dates here.

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Josh Groban Releases New Song 'Dust and Ashes' From Broadway Debut

Josh Groban has released a new digital single entitled "Dust and Ashes", which comes from the new musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

The single is first taste fans are getting of Groban's Broadway debut in The Great Comet this fall. "Dust and Ashes" features music and lyrics by Dave Malloy, and will be distributed by Reprise Records.

The Great Comet is set to open on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street) beginning October 18, with opening night set for Monday, November 14, 2016.

Prior to the opening, Groban will be spending most of the summer on the road. He is currently on a North American tour that is set to conclude with a two night stand at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles on August 26th and 27th. See the dates here.

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KT Tunstall Announces New Album KIN

KT Tunstall has announced that she will be releasing her fifth studio album, which will be entitled KIN, via Caroline Records on September 9th. The album comes after Tunstall had considered leaving music.

"As an artist I feel like I died," she says in the album announcement. "I stopped. I gave up. I didn't want to do it anymore." After moving to Venice Beach, California and enrolling in the Sundance Institute's Film Composers Lab, she changed her mind.

"The truth is, I've finally made peace with being a pop songwriter," KT says. "This record was very much embracing my dharma as an artist, which is to write positive songs that have muscle, but also show their vulnerability."

Kin was produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Fitz and the Tantrums, Air, M83) and composed and recorded by Tunstall in Los Angeles. She will be hitting the road for a North American tour on September 14th in Washington D.C. See the dates and the album tracklisting here.

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Needtobreathe To Celebrate Album Release With Today Show Performance

Needtobreathe will be celebrating the release of their new studio album "H A R D L O V E," with a live performance of the single "Happiness" on the Today show on Wednesday (July 20th).

"Happiness" is featured in Microsoft's new TV and online ad campaign and has garnered almost 4 million streams on Spotify since it was released. The video for the track can been streamed here.

American fans will be able to catch the group on the road in support of the album this summer and fall when they launch their Tour De Compadres across the U.S.

The trek will be kicking off on August 17th in Raleigh, NC at the Red Hat Amphitheater and will conclude on November 12th in 12 Lynchburg, VA at the Liberty University Vines Center. See the tour dates here.

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Amanda Palmer And Her Father Jack Release New Album

Amanda Palmer and her father Jack Palmer have released their new collaborative album, entitled "You Got Me Singing," via AmandaPalmer.net and iTunes. We were sent the following comments from both Palmers:

"The main inspiration behind this record was to share songs and time with my dad," says Amanda, who was separated from her father when she was less than a year old. "It was a really good reason to spend healing time together, sharing our musical histories, all poetically punctuated by the fact that I was seven months pregnant when we recorded. I knew that from my post at the mixing desk and the mic, this music was being heard in the womb, and so the song selection was really important...we didn't want this album to sound corny, we wanted it to sound like the connective tissue between three generations. The songs had to be simple."

Jack Palmer, who is 72 and sings choral music regularly for the National Cathedral in Washington DC, says "I believe nothing is more powerful than love, and that nothing expresses it better than singing. It was one of Amanda's songs that began healing our fractured relationship. Years later, I hope the love that went into this project will perhaps touch listeners in the same way." See the tracklisting here.

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5 Seconds of Summer Star Sleepless Over Ghostbusters Excitement

5 Seconds of Summer have a song in the Ghostbusters reboot soundtrack and a member of the Australian pop-rock group revealed his excitement about the film opening this past Friday (July 15th).

Drummer Ashton Irwin tweeted "I'm just so excited..I can't sleep," ahead of the theatrical opening. A stream of group's new song for the film, entitled "Girls Talk Boys", was released last Thursday. Check it out here.

The film's soundtrack also includes tracks from Fall Out Boy (Theme song), Elle King ("Good Girls"), Zayn Malik ("wHo"), Walk the Moon ("Ghostbusters"), "), G-Eazy featuring Jeremih ("Saw It Coming") and more.

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Tinashe Releases New Single 'Superlove'

(Radio.com) R&B singer Tinashe released her new single "Superlove" early Friday (July 15). She teased the song on her social media accounts on Wednesday (July 13). "Superlove" is a positive song about the euphoric power of love, reported Billboard.

"They will never love you, babe, like I love you, babe," she sings on The-Dream and Tricky Stewart-produced jam. "Say you'll never take my love away."

"I have felt a strong urge recently to release a song that promotes positivity, love, and light," she said in a press release. 'Superlove' is a celebration of happiness. More specifically, it celebrates the kind of happiness that is so immense and infectious, that you can't help but to rejoice in it. I hope to eulogize this wonderful energy and make people feel good, love harder, and dance together."

In April, Tinashe postponed her Joyride world tour to wrap up production on the new LP. "Superlove" follows her previous releases "Player" featuring Chris Brown and the Young Thug-assisted "Party Favors." Joyride, the follow-up to 2014's Aquarius, is expected for release via RCA Records later this fall. Check out the song here.

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