Quick Takes: Bruce Springsteen, Farm Aid, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's legendary 1979 benefit performances at Madison Square Garden will be the focus of a new documentary, titled, The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts. “The Boss” and the band played full sets on both September 21st and 22nd, 1979 for the Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) concerts. From footage culled from both Springsteen shows within the star-studded series of concerts, longtime Springsteen filmmaker Thom Zimny has edited together a full-length Springsteen concert film.
According to the announcement: “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts features remixed and remastered audio and was edited from the original 16mm film by longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny. Sony Music's Premium Content Division is handling global distribution and the film will be released later this year.” (Backstreets)
Following last year's virtual concerts, Farm Aid 2021 is back in person, and set for September 25th, at Hartford Connecticut's Xfinity Theatre. The concert's line up is: Willie Nelson & Family, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Margo Price, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Bettye LaVette, Jamey Johnson, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Particle Kid, and Mellencamp's nephew, Ian Mellencamp. (Jambands)
Although both Foreigner co-founders Mick Jones and Lou Gramm have made peace over the years, Lou Gramm is still holding on to a few personal and professional slights. While appearing on. The Jeremy White Podcast, he explained: “As much as I worked my tail off on 'I Want To Know What Love Is', and I think I had a strong presence on that album and was contributing ideas to the arrangement too, I got zero credit on that song. The song was Number One around the world, and the reality is (Mick) made a hundred percent of the song royalties. I was aced out of that completely.”
Gramm added: “Mick was very fair. No matter who contributed what, between him and I, it was 50-50 or 60-40, but it was always 50-50 or close to 50-50. When 'Waiting For A Girl (Like You)' came out, it was 75-25. And then when 'I Want To Know What Love Is' came out, he offered me 95-5, and I said, 'I don't want five.' So he kept a 100.” (Blabbermouth)
REO Speedwagon leader Kevin Cronin is prepping his autobiography. Cronin, who'll publish the tentatively titled Roll With The Changes: My Life Within And Without REO Speedwagon in 2022, told Ultimate Classic Rock the book will shed light on his relationship with the band's late-guitarist Gary Richrath and the demise of their partnership: “I will say that it is my story, but it’s almost as much Gary Richrath’s story as well — and the story of REO Speedwagon. It kind of follows our songs through my life and the history of the band.” (Ultimate Classic Rock)