Classic Hits

Patti LaBelle, who has suffered from diabetes for over 25 years, is speaking to Congress on Thursday in conjunction with National Diabetes Awareness Month to advocate for better access to care for people with Type 2 diabetes.

“Diabetes is often invisible to everyone except those living with it, so we need to make it visible and help people access the care and technology they deserve,” the “On My Own” singer says in a statement.

LaBelle is joining the Diabetes Leadership Council for a virtual event that will convene policymakers, advocates and healthcare professionals to explore how disparities in diabetes caregiving and technology access impact vulnerable communities, especially in communities of color.

In an Instagram video, the 77-year-old icon revealed she discovered she had diabetes after falling during a concert in the 1990s in Albany, New York. “The stage was moving around, so I passed out, but I thought was I dizzy,” Patti recalls. “I was rushed to the hospital and the doctor came and said you’re type 2 diabetic.”

For those who try to hide the illness, the two-time Grammy winner says, “My advice to those who are shamed of saying they’re diabetic is that you’re crazy. Say it and live with it and smile. I have diabetes, but diabetes does not have me.”

The “Diabetes Technology: Disparities, Access, Equity” event with Congress, featuring Patti, can be viewed this Thursday, November 4, at 12 p.m ET/ 90 a.m. PT, on The Hill website.

 

 

 

 

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U2 has premiered a new single called “Your Song Saved My Life.”

The characteristically uplifting tune was recorded for the upcoming animated film Sing 2, in which Bono voices a rock-star lion character named Clay Calloway. The movie hits theaters this Christmas.

You can listen to “Your Song Saved My Life,” which U2 previously teased via their newly launched TikTok profile, now via digital outlets. It’s U2’s first new, original song in two years, though Bono and The Edge just contributed to a track with DJ and producer Martin Garrix called “We Are the People” earlier this year.

U2’s most recent album is 2017’s Songs of Experience.

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Stevie Wonder’s House Full of Toys benefit concert is back this year.

The 23rd installment of the charity event will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday December 18. The last time Stevie hosted the concert was back in 2018.

“In this, a most challenged time throughout the world, is when we show up to show our deepest love and commitment to helping those to still enjoy this holiday season,” Stevie says in a statement. “It is my joy to be able to return and present HFOT.”

House Full of Toys benefits children, people with disabilities, and families in need during the holidays. Wonder’s We Are You Foundation asks concertgoers to bring an unwrapped toy or other gift to the show.

So far, Stevie is the only confirmed performer. Past shows have included performances by Lionel Richie, R&B singer Ella Mai, singer/rapper Anderson .Paak and more.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, November 5 at 10 a.m. PT on AXS.COM.

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A new mini-documentary about the creation of the limited “333 Edition” vinyl version of Paul McCartney‘s latest solo album, 2020’s McCartney III, has premiered at the Third Man Records label’s official YouTube channel.

To created the limited-edition LP, Third Man Records — the label co-founded by White Stripes frontman Jack White — melted down crushed-up copies of the former Beatles legend’s 1970 debut album, McCartney, and his 1980 studio effort, McCartney II. As its name suggests, only 333 copies of the McCartney III “333 Edition” LP were produced.

The five-minute video features black-and-white clips of Sir Paul working on McCartney III combined with footage of the vinyl LPs being created, as well as interviews with Third Man co-founder Ben Swank and respected Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield.

Sheffield discusses how McCartney recorded the new album during the COVID-19 lockdown and envisioned it as the third installment of a trilogy, along with McCartney and McCartney II. As previously reported, Paul wrote, recorded and produced all three albums almost entirely by himself.

Explaining the idea behind the creation of the limited McCartney III LP, Swank notes, “When I started discussing this with Paul’s manager, he said, ‘Let’s destroy the old to make the new.'”

Near the end of the video, Swank says, “I hope that the philosophical idea of something new growing out of something old, a metaphorical rebirth, as well as a physical rebirth for this vinyl, I hope that comes through to people. Maybe you can’t hear it, but it’s there.”

In addition to the “333 Edition” of McCartney III, Third Man created a “3333 Edition” pressed on yellow-and-black splatter vinyl that was released released exclusively to independent record stores, limited to 3,333 copies worldwide.

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Ronnie Wilson, a founding member of legendary funk and soul group The Gap Band has died. He was 73.

Ronnie’s wife, Linda Boulware-Wilson, confirmed his death on her Facebook page, saying in part, “Ronnie Wilson was a genius with creating, producing, and playing the flugelhorn, Trumpet, keyboards, and singing music, from childhood to his early seventies. He will be truly missed!”

According to TMZ, Wilson died on Tuesday after suffering a stroke.

Ronnie, along his brothers Charlie and Robert, formed The Gap Band in their Tulsa, Oklahoma, hometown in the 1970s. Their music, which was infused with funk and soul, help to inspire bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and Earth Wind & Fire.

The group enjoyed some early success in the late ’70s, but some of their most notable hits came during the early ’80s. In 1980 they released The Gap Band III, which produced such soul ballads as”Yearning for Your Love” and”Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me).” Then in 1982, with the release of The Gap Band IV — their sixth LP — they hit the R&B charts again with songs like “Early in the Morning,” “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” and “Outstanding.”

Although The Gap Band retired in 2010 after the passing of member Robert Wilson, their music has been sampled or covered by a wide range of R&B artists over the years, including Tyler, the Creator, Mary J. Blige, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Tina Turner. More recently, producer Mark Ronson sampled the song “I Don’t Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)” for his smash 2014 collaboration with Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk.”

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The Beatles‘ Let It Be will be among the albums profiled during the second season of the Amazon Original weekly podcast Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums, which premieres at Amazon Music on November 16.

As its name suggest, the episodic podcast delves into records that were chosen for Rolling Stone magazine’s latest list of the 500 greatest albums. Each episode takes a behind-the-scenes look at how one specific album on the list was made, featuring interviews with people associated with the record, and sometimes including the artists themselves.

The Let It Be episode will kick off season two of the podcast. Interviews with surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are featured in the presentation, discussing details about how the band’s final studio album came together, and the whether the common perception that the band members were angry with each other throughout the project is accurate.

Also appearing in the podcast are Giles Martin, son of late Beatles producer George Martin, and filmmaker Peter Jackson, director of Get Back: The Beatles, the upcoming Disney+ docuseries focusing on the Let It Be sessions.

Other upcoming episodes of the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums podcast include shows focusing on Britney Spears‘ Blackout, jazz artist Alice Coltrane‘s Journey in Satchidananda, Dolly Parton‘s Coat of Many Colors, and Weezer‘s self-titled 1989 studio effort, a.k.a. The Blue Album.

Season two of the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums podcast will be available exclusively at Amazon Music and Wondery+.

You can check out a trailer for the new season, and episodes from the podcast’s first season, at Amazon.com.

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Arizona’s baseball-themed Innings Festival is coming to the East Coast next year.

The inaugural Innings Festival Florida will take place March 19-20 in Tampa, and Green Day will headline the bill on the first day. The lineup also includes Goo Goo Dolls, second-day headliners The Lumineers, Incubus, 311, Jimmy Eat World, O.A.R., Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Skip Marley, X-Files star and singer David Duchovny, among others.

As with the Arizona fest, Innings Florida coincides with the MLB spring training season, and will feature guest appearances by baseball greats including Ozzie Smith, Gary Sheffield, John Kruk, Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent, Andruw Jones and Tino Martinez.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 5, at 10 a.m. ET. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit InningsFestival.com/Florida.

If you still prefer your baseball music festival with a side of dry heat instead of humidity, Innings Arizona takes place next year on February 26 and 27 in Tempe. The lineup includes headliners Foo Fighters and Tame Impala, as well as Fitz and the Tantrums, St. Vincent, My Morning Jacket, Dashboard Confessional and others.

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Paul McCartney‘s new book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, was released today.

As previously reported, the two-volume book profiles 154 songs McCartney wrote throughout his career, and features his commentary about each tune, as well as handwritten lyric sheets, rare personal photos, drawings and rough drafts of songs.

To celebrate The Lyrics‘ publication, Sir Paul has answered several fan-submitted questions about his songwriting as part of a new installment of his website’s “You Gave Me the Answer” feature.

One fan asked if, while putting the book together, “lyrics or memories…came back to you and reminded you of a time you’d forgotten,” to which McCartney responded that reviewing some of his tunes wound up being like visiting a psychiatrist for him.

“[R]evisiting the first song I ever wrote ‘I Lost My Little Girl’…kind of turned into a therapy session, because I thought I was happily writing a little pop song when I was fourteen,” he noted, “but if you look at the timing of it I had just lost my mother.” Paul added that it made him realize he may have subliminally written the tune about his mom.

He also pointed out that “Yesterday” may have been partly inspired by losing his mother. McCartney said thinking about the writing of other songs brought back “surprising memories,” such as hitchhiking trips he took with John Lennon and George Harrison.

Asked if he had rules or a formula for writing a song, McCartney said definitely not. “[I]t’s not like building a car or fixing a television, it’s something that is very different each time you do it,” he noted. “In fact, you don’t want to learn a set of rules because that’s what keeps it interesting!”

Check out the full Q&A at PaulMcCartney.com.

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Midas Man, an upcoming biopic about late Beatles manager Brian Epstein, will continue production although its director, Jonas Akerlund, apparently will be dropping off the project, Variety reports.

According to Variety, sources have revealed that Akerlund currently is “taking a break” from filming and likely will not return.

The movie began shooting two weeks ago in Liverpool, U.K., but the production was put on hold this week. A source close to the production confirmed to Variety that the shoot may start up again as soon as next week, and if Akerlund doesn’t return, a new director will be announced soon.

“The director of Midas Man Jonas Akerlund is taking a break from the film,” says StudioPOW co-founder Perry Trevers, whose company is co-producing the movie. “Until some matters become clearer we are not able to add any further comment to this statement. In the meantime we can confirm that filming of Midas Man will continue in London in November before breaking for Christmas. Filming will restart in early January in Los Angeles.”

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, whose credits include The Queen’s Gambit and Wolf Hall, has been cast as Epstein in the film, while Outlander actress Rosie Day is portraying pop star Cilla Black.

Akerlund’s credits include directing videos for Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne and many others. He won Grammys for McCartney’s Live Kisses film, as well as for Madonna’s The Confessions Tour concert video and “Ray of Light” music video.

Epstein discovered The Beatles in 1961 and officially became their manager the following year, helping to guide the group to superstardom. He also managed such other Liverpool acts as Black and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Brian died in 1967 of an apparent accidental sleeping-pill overdose. He was 32.

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Now that Mariah Carey has officially declared it to be the start of the Christmas season, what better time for her to announce her latest holiday project?

For the second year in a row, the Queen of Christmas will have her own Apple TV+ special.  Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues will debut in December and will feature R&B/pop star Khalid and gospel music legend Kirk Franklin. All three artists will perform their new single, “Fall In Love at Christmas,” which is available for pre-order now. 

The single officially drops on Friday but you can hear a snippet now on Instagram.

You can also stream last year’s presentation, Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, which featured Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Tiffany Haddish, Billy Eichner, Snoop Dogg and ballerina Misty Copeland.

In other Mariah news, her best-selling memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, is out today in paperback.

 

 

 

 

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