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Today’s Music News: Prince once replaced Questlove with ‘Finding Nemo’

by Staff

November 11, 2015

In honor of the release of a trailer for Finding Nemo sequel Finding DoryQuestlove tweeted a story about Prince. (Pitchfork) We knew Prince was a Nemo fan: the movie played twice during his visit last summer with Bobby Z and Andrea Swensson.

The death toll from a horrific Romanian nightclub fire continues to mount: 51 have now died from their injuries, including four out of five members of Goodbye to Gravity, the metal band that was playing when the accident happened. The fire has led to widespread political tumult in the country, with government leaders resigning as protesters accuse elected officials of compromising public safety. (Billboard)

Guitarist Gary "Dr. Know" Miller of Bad Brains is no longer in critical condition, says the band. Miller was hospitalized last week with an undisclosed illness. (Billboard)

Details of David Bowie's closely-guarded stage project Lazarus have emerged in a New York Times feature. The show, which opens in New York on Dec. 7, is a sort of sequel to The Man Who Fell to Earth. The play includes new Bowie music as well as existing songs, including "This Is Not America."

Drummer Andy White has died at age 85. A Scottish session musician, White is best known for playing on the Beatles' "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You." The band's first single, "Love Me Do" was actually recorded with both of the band's drummers: first Pete Best, then his replacement Ringo Starr. When producer George Martin was still not satisfied, White was brought in. Starr does appear on both tracks, playing maracas and tambourine. (Rolling Stone)

In other Starr news, a 2014 tribute concert will be released as a live album. At the concert, artists including the Head and the HeartBen FoldsBen Harper, and Joe Walsh performed Starr's songs. Ringo Starr: The Lifetime of Peace & Love Tribute Concert will be released on Dec. 4. (Rolling Stone)

On Tuesday night in New York, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe opened for his longtime friend Patti Smith. Stipe's set consisted entirely of covers—including songs by John Lennon ("Imagine"), Neil Young ("Old Man"), and David Bowie ("All the Young Dudes"). (Pitchfork)

In a new Billboard interview, former music executive Ron McCarell explains how REO Speedwagon's 1981 hit "Keep On Loving You" started the still-active trend of blockbuster albums that spawn multiple hit singles. When the song became a hit on both AM (then primarily a pop singles format) and FM (then primarily for album rock) stations, the label proceeded to release follow-up singles from the same album, Hi Infidelity. A couple years later, Michael Jackson's Thriller produced seven top ten hits—and the multi-hit album became a standard goal for major artists. The latest album to generate at least five top ten hits is Taylor Swift's 1989. (Billboard)

Major Lazer and DJ Snake, with , have claimed the honor of most-streamed song of all time on Spotify. With 526 million plays, their collaboration "Lean On" unseats previous champ "Thinking Out Loud," by Ed Sheeran. (Billboard)

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