Arch MUSIC NEWS for 9/13/12

Arch Music News is compiled by Jay Philpott (Metro Networks  © 2012)

Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, and blues great Buddy Guy are in line for Kennedy Center Honors. They are among the seven performers named to receive the prestigious award, which recognizes individuals for their contributions to American culture through the performing arts. Other 2012 honorees include actor Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, and ballerina Natalia Makarova. They’ll all be celebrated with a two-night event in Washington, DC, which includes a special State Department dinner with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and an all-star concert gala saluting their work. The Kennedy Center Honors weekend is set for December 1st and 2nd. The event will be taped for broadcast airing on CBS on December 26th.

Adam Ant is launching a tour in Los Angeles on Thursday on his first run through the U.S. in 17 years. His goal with the road trip is to “reacquaint” himself with his fans. He also promises to play the songs they know and love. Adam says he understands that his audiences want to hear the hits, explaining that he feels the same way when he sees his favorite bands in concert. He says he plans to put on two-hour shows, and has nine albums-worth of material to choose from so he and his band can “really swap things around.” But Adam says he also intends to introduce a few new tunes with the tour.

Wolfgang Van Halen is going on the road with Mark Tremonti. He’ll be the bassplayer accompanying the Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist on his solo tour. Tremonti is supporting his solo album, “All I Was,” which he released in July.

Legendary music producer Clive Davis is putting pen to paper and (through simon & Schuster) publishing the memoir of the his long career. The book will chronicle Davis’ ultra-successful career and share stories of the relationships he shared with some of music’s biggest names including, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston. Some spoilers have already been released. So far, it is known that Davis will share anecdotes about advice he gave to Simon & Garfunkel and Bob Dylan. Look for it in February of 2013.

Christina Aguilera is releasing a new single Friday and has announced the name of her new album: “Lotus”, which will be out in November.

Matchbox Twenty is celebrating the band’s first ever debut at the top of Billboard’s 200 album chart. The band’s comeback album, “North,” sold 95-thousand copies sold in its first week of release to take the top spot, according to Nielsen SoundScan. “North” is Matchbox Twenty’s first full-length studio album since “More Than You Think You Are” in 2002.