Music Biz Headlines, Sept. 12, 2018

By Kerry Doole

Quincy Jones praises Drake, mourns ‘painful’ loss of Aretha Franklin

Legendary music producer Quincy Jones says it’s been a “painful” past few weeks as he mourns the loss of two of his friends — soul music great Aretha Franklin and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. –  Victoria Ahearn, CP

Drake is still Canada's hip-hop king, but has he lost his sting?

Scorpion is a smash, but Drake may no longer be on top of the world in terms of his influence. –  Erik Leijon, Montreal Gazette

Drake and Meek Mill are bosom buddies once again, bringing us one step closer to world peace

Which, let's just hope, also means he's accepted Kanye's heartfelt apology from last week.  –  Sadaf Ahsan, Calgary Herald

John Lennon gets Forever stamp

John Lennon is the latest musician to be honoured by the U.S. Postal Service as part of its Music Icons stamp. A first-day-of-issue ceremony was held Friday, Sept. 7th in New York City’s Central Park. –  Buddy Iahn, Music Universe

The money man behind America's biggest concerts

Ron Delsener is a working-class kid from Queens who rode his charm and his hustle all the way to the top of the music industry. He basically created the genre of the massive outdoor concert with his epic series of free Concerts in the Park. He landed everyone: Pavarotti, Streisand, even post-breakup Simon and Garfunkel. – WNYC Studios

Dave Chappelle celebrates A Star is Born with impromptu ‘block party’ jam at TIFF

It’s going to be tough to top this party for best of TIFF 2018. Musical guests at the jam included Kardinal Offishall and Lukas Nelson. – Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Canadian Country Music Awards: See y’all again in September 2020

Shania Twain, Keith Urban and the Canadian Country Music Awards have now left the building. But don't fret, country fans, they're coming back. Well, maybe not Shania and Keith, but definitely the awards show, in 2020.  –  Graham Rockingham, Hamilton Spectator

Autopsy performed on rapper Mac Miller, more tests needed

the cause of death is not yet clear for hip-hop star Mac Miller, who was found dead in his Los Angeles home last week. –  AP

Hole’s 'Celebrity Skin' was a polished, perfect love-hate letter to LA

“Make me over / I’m all I wanna be / A walking study / in demonology” With the opening promise of Celebrity Skin – the album and lead single of the same name – Courtney Love succinctly described her transformation from grubby ‘teenage whore’ to luminescent Hollywood star. –  Hannah Ewens, Laura Backeberg, noisey

Review: Aqua and Prozzäk sent off summer with a joyful retro pop hootenanny

This was a classic Canadian end of summer pop hootenanny. And who better to hoot than Lene Nystrøm and René Dif, the strangely glossy duo fronting the fantastical Danish-Norwegian pop machine Aqua?  –  Nick Flanagan, NOW

Roger Waters teams up with Palestinian band in new song

Roger Waters worked with Palestinian band Trio Joubran on a new a song in dedication of the four Palestinian boys who were killed while they were playing on the Gaza beach in 2014. The song, titled “Carry the Earth”, was written by both the band and the pro-Palestine, former Pink Floyd singer. –  WAFA

SKOOKUM organizers report 50,000 music fans passing through gates during festival's inaugural edition

Vancouver’s inaugural SKOOKUM Festival in Stanley Park turned into an at-times-rainy affair, but that didn’t stop music fans from showing up for three days of music, art, and food.  –  Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight

Lady Gaga A Star Is Born soundtrack coming October 5

The soundtrack to the newest reboot of ‘A Star Is Born’, starring Lady Gaga, will be released on October 5, the same day the movie comes out. –   Paul Cashmere, Noise11.com

Music review: Hawksley Workman, King Tut’s, Glasgow

If the American cult filmmaker and comedian Bobcat Goldthwait decided to launch a supplementary career as a singer-songwriter, he would look and sound like the Canadian musician Hawksley Workman. That isn’t intended as an insult.  –  Paul Whitelaw, The Scotsman

Future of rock ’n’ roll Greta Van Fleet is mining the classic rock past

The record company man had told me Greta Van Fleet was the future of rock ’n’ roll. On stage at Toronto’s Rebel club this summer, though, the band seemed much more like the past. –  Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail

Australian-American Grainger likes her roots and blues honest and funky

"I think almost everyone is on a journey to try and make a studio album sound as good as a live album. This last one came pretty close." - Kara Grainger.  –  Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal

Olivia Newton-John diagnosed with cancer for third time

The four-time Grammy winner, who will turn 70 on Sept. 26, told Australian news program “Sunday Night” doctors found a tumour in her lower back in 2017. –   AP

D Double E, grime's nearly man: 'I haven’t been able to prove myself'

Skepta hailed him the ‘greatest grime MC of all time’ but Darren Dixon has struggled to break into the mainstream – can his solo debut album change that? –  Dan Hancox, The Guardian

Saturday in the arena: Chicago a hard habit to break

Nostalgia can mean a lot of things, especially when it comes to music. At Bell MTS Place this month there are four acts coming through that, arguably, have long passed their peak in terms of musical output. Chicago, one of the best-selling groups of all time, stands out amongst this group for a few reasons. –  Erin Lebar, Winnipeg Free Press

 Joan Jett catalogue hits steaming services

Sony Music Entertainment and Legacy Recordings have entered into an historic new agreement with Blackheart Records. The new SME/Legacy/Blackheart pact covers the worldwide rights to Joan Jett’s records. –  Music Universe

Go-Betweens' Lindy Morrison: Brisbane in the late 70s was fast and furious

Cops ruled the streets, and many fled to Sydney. Lindy Morrison stayed to vent anger in all-female punk band Zero. –  The Guardian