Classic Hits

Cyndi Lauper was the surprise guest at Nicki Minaj‘s Pink Friday 2 World Tour stop at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center on Wednesday, May 1.

Fan-shot footage shared on social media shows Lauper joining Minaj on stage for “Pink Friday Girls,” a track that features a sample of Lauper’s classic “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” 

One clip shows Nicki hyping up Lauper to the crowd by saying, “make some noise for this icon, this legend.” Another shows Nicki giving Cyndi a big hug, with both of them bowing down to each other and Nicki telling the crowd, “I have been speaking about this woman in my interviews since I first began rapping.”

“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” was Cyndi’s debut single, released in 1983. It was a breakthrough hit for her, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

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A new book about The Doors will take a deep dive into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band as they celebrate their 60th anniversary. 

Night Divides the Day, the first official anthology on The Doors, is being described as the “most definitive book yet” on the band. It features new interviews with surviving members Robby Krieger and John Densmore, and archival contributions from the late Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek.

Hours of archival interviews were used as sources for the book, which also features rare photos, song lyrics, poster artwork and more. It also includes contributions from artists like Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Nancy Sinatra and Van Morrison.

Only 2,000 copies of the book will be available — in two different editions. The Collector edition is limited to 1,650 copies, all signed by Densmore and Krieger. It comes with a 24-page replica program of The Doors’ 1968 tour and a booklet featuring reproductions of the previously unseen mastertape boxes of six of The Doors’ albums. There’s also a 7-inch vinyl picture disc featuring rare demos of “Hello I Love You” and “Moonlight Drive.” 

The Deluxe edition, limited to 350 copies, is also signed by Densmore and Krieger, and features much of the same content as the Collector, with the addition of five previously unpublished photo prints of The Doors at the Whisky a Go Go in 1966, taken by photographer George Rodriguez.

Night Divides the Day is available for preorder now, with the book expected to ship in January 2025.

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Steve Perry is singing Journey again — just not with Journey.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer announced on Instagram that he has rerecorded the Raised on Radio track “It Could Have Been You” with The Effect, the band made up of Trevor Lukather — son of Toto‘s Steve Lukather — Phil Collins‘ son Nic Collins, Steve Maggiora and Emmett Sans. 

“I’ve known Trevor Lukather since he was 9 years old and he is a very gifted musician. One day we were talking about his new band, The Effect… He surprisingly mentioned ‘It Could Have Been You’ is one of his favorite tracks from that record, I told him I felt the same,” Perry shared. “I then said, why don’t you record it? He asked if I would sing on it if they did, I said… ‘Of course my most precious!'”

“I must say, singing on their powerful track brought out a vocal experience in me from years ago !” he adds, noting that he always considered the song a “diamond in the rough.” 

The reimagined version of “It Could Have Been You” will be released May 7 on all streaming services.

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Albums from Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie were among the big sellers on Record Store Day, which took place on April 20.

Billboard reports that Talking Heads’ double vinyl Live at WCOZ 77 was the fifth bestselling record during the annual celebration of independent record stores, while a picture disc vinyl of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Bowie’s Waiting in the Sky (Before the Starman Came to Earth) both landed in the top 10. 

Other bestsellers include albums from Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Ramones, Grateful Dead, The Doors and John Lennon.

As for singles, David Byrne & Paramore’s “Hard Times”/”Burning Down the House” 12-inch vinyl was the second bestselling single, with U2’s “Atomic City (Live at Sphere, Las Vegas)” /” Atomic City (Mike WiLL Made-It Remix)” at three and The Beatles’ “She Loves You” 3-inch vinyl also landing in the top 10.

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On This Day, May 2, 1972… 

A 22-year-old Bruce Springsteen auditioned for Columbia Records A&R exec John Hammond in New York City. Hammond was known for working with such artists as Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan.

At the time, Springsteen had already gained a local following due to his live shows, but he had yet to garner a larger following.

Bruce performed “It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City” at the audition, and Hammond was impressed and wanted to sign him. Later that night, Springsteen performed for Columbia execs at the Gaslight Club in New York and later recorded a demo, landing him a deal with the label.

Springsteen wound up signing to Columbia on June 9, 1972, and released his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., in January 1973. He has spent over 50 years with the label, releasing his last album, Only the Strong Survive, in 2022.

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Jeff Lynne revealed in a May 1 social media post that his ELO bandmate Richard Tandy had passed away at the age of 76. 

“It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of my long-time collaborator and dear friend Richard Tandy,” Lynne shared. “He was a remarkable musician & friend and I’ll cherish the lifetime of memories we had together.”

Tandy played keyboards in ELO, which was formed in 1970 by Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevan. Tandy joined in 1971, and remained with the group until their first breakup in 1986, reuniting with them in 2000 and again in 2014.

Tandy appeared on all of ELO’s records since 1973’s ELO 2, and provided the infamous vocoder vocals on their classic hit “Mr. Blue Sky.” He also collaborated with Lynne on other projects, including Lynne’s 1990 solo album Armchair Theatre and the soundtrack to the 1984 movie Electric Dreams.

Tandy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of ELO.

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The Rolling Stones are celebrating their new Hackney Diamonds tour with a special release from their Crossfire Hurricane premium rum. 

The limited-edition gift set, which costs $125, has been designed specifically for the tour, and features a black Hackney Diamonds glass container with The Stones’ tongue logo and a bottle of Crossfire Hurricane rum in a keepsake box.

“This commemorative box set of Crossfire Hurricane Rum is not just a celebration of our US tour,” The Stones share, “but a toast to the incredible journey we’ve shared with our fans.”

The gift set will be available in select cities that correspond with shows on the Hackney Diamonds tour. Fans at the shows will also be able to purchase the package via in-stadium digital billboards, with the purchase delivered to their homes via ReserveBar. 

As part of the special promotion, the Crossfire Hurricane Last Call Tour Ticket Giveaway has just launched, with the winner nabbing two tickets to the final Hackney Diamonds show in Santa Clara, California, on July 17.

The Rolling Stones launched their Hackney Diamonds tour on Sunday, April 28, in Houston. They bring it to Jazz Fest in New Orleans on Thursday, May 2. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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Guitars from artists like John Lennon, Randy Bachman, Bob Dylan and more are part of Julien’s Auctions upcoming Music Icons auction, and now fans in Nashville will have a chance to see those items before they go on the auction block.

Julien’s just announced a special Music Icons exhibition, running from May 15 to May 18 at Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. 

Items on display will include Lennon’s lost 1965 Framus 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar, which he used during the recording of the Help! album and film; a 1965 Fender Telecaster played by Dylan and Robbie Robertson; Bachman’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, known as the “American Woman” guitar; and Mark Knopfler’s 1987 Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman guitar. 

“Julien’s is thrilled to be back in Nashville to host this incredible exhibition of some of the greatest guitars in all of rock history at the world-class Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum,” David Goodman, CEO of Julien’s Auctions, shares. “This event welcomes enthusiasts and collectors to discover Rock and Roll’s musical heritage through these pieces of music history ahead of their auction in May.”

The Music Icons auction is happening Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, live at the Hard Rock Café in New York. There will also be a special exhibition to view the items at the Hard Rock May 22-28. More info can be found at juliensauctions.com.

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Musician and author Jason Thomas Gordon set out to discover how superstar vocalists do what they do, which resulted in him interviewing over 70 well-known singers for his book The Singers Talk. Well, now those interviews are the inspiration for a new podcast series.

Season 1 of The Singers Talk features exclusive interviews with The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Rush’s Geddy Lee, Sammy Hagar, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Bryan Adams and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, as well as Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon, The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and others.

The season also features tributes to Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell by his Audioslave bandmate, Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello; Prince by The Revolution’s Wendy Melvoin; and Janis Joplin by Big Brother and the Holding Company‘s Peter Albin. 

“It’s a really brutal job, and I couldn’t believe there was no resource to find out how people like (Bruce) Springsteen do this night after night,” says Gordon. “So, I decided to do something about it and wrote The Singers Talk.”

Season 1 of The Singers Talk podcast is available now at volume.com and other podcast platforms.

The book The Singers Talk came out in September, with proceeds donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which was founded by Gordon’s grandfather, famed entertainer Danny Thomas.

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Guitar legend Duane Eddy passed away Tuesday in Franklin, Tennessee, at the age of 86, his manager confirmed to ABC Audio.

“Duane inspired a generation of guitarists the world over with his unmistakable signature ‘Twang’ sound,” read the statement from his rep. “He was the first rock and roll guitar god, a truly humble and incredible human being. He will be sorely missed.”

Eddy had 15 top-40 singles throughout the late ’50s and early ’60s, with his breakthrough being the 1958 instrumental track “Revel Rouser,” which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his first Gold record.

Eddy had another hit with “Peter Gunn,” the Henry Mancini-composed instrumental for the TV series of the same name. It gained renewed popularity in the ‘80s when Eddy rerecorded it with Art of Noise, resulting in a top-10 hit for the guitarist.

Other hits include “Cannonball,” “Movin ‘n Groovin” and “Because They’re Young,” with Eddy selling more than 100 million records worldwide. 

Eddy, whose music influenced artists like George Harrison and Bruce Springsteen, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2008.

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