April 20 has been designated “Oingo Boingo Day” in Los Angeles, according to a release from City Councilman Jose Huizar. The public is invited to attend the 10 a.m. ceremony in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Boingo leader Danny Elfman will be out of town, but former band members, including drummer Johnny Vatos, bassist John Avila, saxman Sam “Sluggo” Phipps, and singer-keyboardist Carl Graves, each of whom still perform as The Johnny Vatos Oingo Boingo Dance Party, will attend. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is also expected to attend.

Hugely popular in So Cal, Boingo were a considerable influence on alt and new wave rock throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s, scoring hits such as “Only a Lad,” “Stay,” “Cinderella Undercover,” “Not My Slave,” “Just Another Day,” “Out of Control,” “We Close Our Eyes,” “Goodbye, Goodbye” (which closes the 1982 comedy classic “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”), “Weird Science” (the title song from the 1985 sci-fi comedy) and their trademark biggie, “Dead Man’s Party.”

The Johnny Vatos Oingo Boingo Dance Party, fronted by vocalist Brendan McCreary, plays the Gaslamp in Long Beach on May 7, as well as their traditional Halloween gigs on Oct. 28 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Oct. 29 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and Oct. 30 at the Canyon in Agoura Hills.

JUDGE APPROVES SUIT AGAINST LED ZEPPELIN

A U.S. District judge in Los Angeles ruled that a trial is needed to determine whether the opening notes to the 1971 Led Zeppelin classic “Stairway to Heaven” were copied from the 1968 song, “Taurus,” by ‘60s L.A. cult favorites, Spirit, reports Reuters.

A jury trial is set for May 10.

The song is credited to the suit’s defendants, Zep’s guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant. The judge removed Led Zeppelin’s bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones from the case, and the late drummer John Bonham wasn’t named. A rep for Led Zeppelin declined to comment.

The charge was originally filed in 2014 by attorneys for the trustee of the estate of “Taurus’” composer Randy Wolfe, Spirit’s lead guitarist and one of the band’s singer-songwriters. He was known as Randy California.

Between 1968 and 1970, Zeppelin and Spirit played several West Coast shows together, according to Reuters. Bootlegs exist on YouTube and elsewhere showing Zeppelin in January 1969 incorporating another Spirit song, “Fresh Garbage,” written by the band’s singer-keyboardist Jay Ferguson. It was a hit in the earliest days of so-called “Underground” FM radio, into its set only days after the two bands performed together.

The British hard rockers are hardly strangers to charges of copying or plagiarism, especially Page.

On “Led Zeppelin II” (1969), “Bring It On Home” was copied from Sonny Boy Williamson’s 1963 recording of “Bring It On Home,” written by Willie Dixon. On the same album, “The Lemon Song” included large portions of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor.”

“Whole Lotta Love,” also from the second album, contained lyrics from Willie Dixon’s 1962 song “You Need Love.”

In 1985, Dixon filed a winning copyright infringement suit that cost Page and Plant an undisclosed amount, but sources have put the payout in the millions. Later pressings of “Led Zeppelin II” credit Dixon as co-writer with Page and Plant.

On “Led Zeppelin I,” also from 1969, Page’s acoustic instrumental “Black Mountain Side” was directly influenced by guitar master Bert Jansch’s 1966 song, “Black Waterside,” yet only Page is credited. In “How Many More Times,” a verse from “The Hunter” by Albert King and written by famed Stax soul outfit Booker T. & The MG’s was included, yet no credit was given.

Page and Plant also eventually paid a settlement to the publisher of Ritchie Valens’ song “Ooh! My Head” over “Boogie with Stu,” from the album 1975 album, “Physical Graffiti.” It was determined that the song borrowed heavily from Valens.

In 1967, American singer-songwriter Jake Holmes, who wrote “Dazed and Confused,” opened a few shows for Page and his pre-Zeppelin band, The Yardbirds. Within a week, Page and The Yardbirds had incorporated the song into their concert setlist. When Led Zeppelin’s first album came out, “Dazed and Confused” was included, however, only Page was credited as songwriter.

For whatever reasons, Holmes did not sue Page until 2010. The lawsuit was settled out of court and the 2012 live Led Zeppelin reunion concert album and DVD, “Celebration Day,” credits the song to Jimmy Page and “inspired by Jake Holmes.”

In 1997, Spirit’s California drowned in the Pacific Ocean at age of 45 while heroically rescuing his 12-year-old son Quinn, caught in a vicious riptide near the home of his mother at Molokai, Hawaii. With his last breath, California pushed Quinn toward the shore and to safety.

ROCK HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE MILLER SOUNDS OFF

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and concert was held Friday night before 19,000 fans and fellow musicians at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The inductees included Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, N.W.A., and a very vocal Stevie “Guitar” Miller.

Miller was inducted by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, and then he gave what was described as a “gracious” acceptance speech. Then, he ran through a trio of ‘70s hit: “Fly Like An Eagle,” “Jet Airliner,” and “The Joker.”

But moments later in the press room, the 72-year-old “Gangster of Love,” whose first hit, “Living in the U.S.A.” dates to 1968, railed at the Hall of Fame organizers.

“The whole process needs to be changed from the top to the bottom,” he said. “They need to respect the artists they say they’re honoring, but they don’t.”

As an example, Miller said Hall organizers provided a pair of tickets for only him and his wife, telling him that his band members would have to pay their own way for passes that ran as much as $10,000 apiece (none of them attended).

Had Miller brought any other family members or guests, it would have cost the Hall of Fame inductee $10,000 per person as well, regardless that the arena holds 19,000.

With that, a Hall of Fame publicist attempted to shut Miller down and get him away from the media mikes, but he was having none of that.

“We are not gonna wrap this one up,” telling the publicist to sit down and contiuning. “This is how close this show came to not happening, because of the way the artists are being treated right now.”

Later, in a chat with Cleveland.com and Rolling Stone, he ripped the Hall board of directors, the music industry and some of the industry types who attended the ceremony.

“The whole process is unpleasant. The whole experience should be completely redesigned and become much more artist-friendly, starting from who you can invite, what you can do, how long you can play, what you can say,” he began.

He said the Hall needs to be more inclusive because “they got elitist with it. … I don’t think they were very smart in the way they … narrowed the gene pool. Should The Moody Blues be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? That’s absurd. Of course they should be.” It should be noted that not only aren’t The Moody Blues in the Hall, they have never even been on the ballot.

The same is true for Jethro Tull, Procol Harum, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, ELP, Roxy Music, and ‘60s rockers Paul Revere and The Raiders, to name a few.

Miller also said to Rolling Stone: “This little get-together you guys have here is like a private boys’ club and it’s a bunch of jackasses and jerks and f***ing gangsters and crooks who’ve f***ing stolen everything from a f***ing artist. Telling the artist to come out here and tap dance. I came out here for my fans.”

After enduring sleepless nights ever since The Black Keys gave Miller’s induction speech, the group’s singer-guitarist Auerbach ripped Miller in comments to Rolling Stone: “The whole process was unpleasant. The most unpleasant part was being around him … The first thing he told us was, ‘I can’t wait to get out of here.’ He knew that we signed up to do this (induction) speech for him. And he made no effort… he didn’t even figure out who we were.”

He and Carney were big Miller fans who were honored to induct him, but that changed. “We were so disappointed that as soon as we got offstage, we left. We walked right outside and left the f***ing building … we weren’t wanted by him there, so we sure as f*** weren’t going to hang around.”

The 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be broadcast April 30 on HBO.

SPRINGSTEEN, RINGO, ADAMS PROTEST LAW, CANCEL SHOWS

In a protest against North Carolina’s recently signed Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act that is activating pro-gay and LGBT supporters, Bruce Springsteen canceled last Sunday’s show with The E Street Band in Greensboro, North Carolina, according to an announcement on his website.

In the post, the Boss, 66, said: “I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters” who are against this new law. Cancelling the show and depriving the state of the business a Springsteen concert can bring to the state is “the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”

First term Congressman Mark Walker (R-NC) spoke with the Hollywood Reporter, calling Springsteen “a bully” and added: “It’s disappointing he’s not following through on his commitments, (but) we have other artists coming soon – Def Leppard, Justin Bieber.”

Wednesday, Ringo Starr announced that he was joining Springsteen and has cancelled his concert with his All-Starr Band that was set for June 18 at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., in protest over the new law, reports Rolling Stone.

Meanwhile, 56-year-old Canadian pop-rocker Bryan Adams has canceled a show set for Thursday night at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss.

Adams, best known for ‘80s No. 1’s “Run to You” and “Somebody,” among numerous Top 10 hits, cited that state’s new law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples. Adams said he cannot “in good conscience” perform in a state where “people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation.”

However, longtime LGBT rights activist Cyndi Lauper, 62, will not boycott the states, reports TMZ.

She told the celebrity-oriented outlet: “I would play in North Carolina. I think that people will need us there. Wherever there’s a shutout, wherever there’s people who don’t accept other people, the other people need you.”

On June 4, Lauper is set to play the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, N.C.

Agreeing with Lauper was 69-year-old King Parrot Head, Mississippi-born Jimmy Buffett, who said he would play his two scheduled shows in North Carolina next week despite the state’s “stupid laws.”

TREMELOES MEMBERS DENY CHARGES

Two members of the ‘60s Brit pop group The Tremeloes denied in Chester Crown Court in London that they sexually abused a 15-year-old girl nearly a half-century ago, reports the UK’s Daily Mail.

Lead guitarist Rick Westwood, 72, and bass player Chip Hawkes, 70, each appeared via video link and both men pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault.

An unnamed woman claims the pair assaulted her in a hotel room in Chester, England, just south of Liverpool, after attending a Tremeloes concert there. She claims the assault took place sometime between April 1 and 30, 1968.

The band was originally called Brian Poole and The Tremoloes due to the frontman’s considerable star power. Poole left the band for a solo career early in 1966, and that’s when The Tremoloes started scoring hits here. In 1967, the reached No. 11 here with Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby” and No. 11 with the Four Seasons-connected team of Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe’s “Silence is Golden.”

The Tremoloes remain active in Britain, while in 2004, Hawkes formed The Class of ’64. Hawkes and his band are on a British “Sixties Gold Tour” in September, along with Poole and The Tremoloes, The Searchers, P.J. Proby, former Mindbenders leader Wayne Fontana, and Gary Puckett of The Union Gap.

OBIT: BOWIE DRUMMER DAVIS

Dennis Davis, who was David Bowie’s drummer for years, died April 6 of cancer at age 60 in an undisclosed location, reports Digital Music News.

The New York City-born Davis trained as a jazz drummer under the tutelage of veterans Max Roach and Elvin Jones.

Bowie first hired him in 1974 for his “Young American” sessions. He remained for “Station to Station” and the three Berlin LPs, “Low,” “Heroes” and “Lodger.” His final album with Bowie was 1980’s “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps).” In he was Bowie’s percussionist on his live shows in the early this century.

In addition to his work with Bowie, Davis played with jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers for three decades as well as With Stevie Wonder through the ‘80s. He did session work with Jermaine Jackson, George Benson and Bowie’s pal, Iggy Pop.

OBIT: BELMONT’S MASTRANGELO

Bass singer Carlo Mastrangelo, an original member of vocal group doo-wop legends The Belmonts, died April 4 at age 78 after battling cancer, according to Vintage Vinyl News.

The group members were school chums who sang in subways and on the streets of the Bronx beginning in 1955. They changed their name to Dion and The Belmonts in 1958 after the hits began rolling in and their lead singer, Dion DiMucci, became a huge star in his own right.

Dion and The Belmonts recorded such hits as “Teenager in Love,” “Where or When” and “I Wonder Why” before Dion left for a successful solo career. With Dion gone, Mastrangelo took over on lead vocals and they carried on as a trio.

Over the next three years, the Mastrangelo-led Belmonts hit Billboard’s Hot 100 with singles six times. In 1962, Mastrangelo quit over a disagreement about their finances. After a solo career resulted in a bit of regional airplay but little else, he rejoined Dion and his band, The Wanderers, as drummer and backup singer.

The original Dion and The Belmonts reunited briefly in 1966 for some shows and a new album, “Dion and The Belmonts Together Again” that saw a pair of singles from the album hit the British Top 20. They reunited again for two shows in 1972 that saw a live album come of it.

In the ‘70s, he sang with a jazz and progressive rock band Pulse and later sang with the group The Midnight Sun. He moved to Boynton Beach, Fla., only minutes from Dion and he continued to collaborate and sing behind him on his albums and in concert until his death.

This story has been updated to correct the mayor’s first name.

Steve Smith writes a new Classic Pop, Rock and Country Music News column every week. It can be read in its entirety on www.presstelegram.com. Like, recommend or share the column on Facebook. Contact him by email at Classicpopmusicnews@gmail.com.