Classic Hits

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and punk poet Patti Smith is name-checked in the title track to Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, and Smith has shared her gratitude for the recognition.

Taylor sings in the track, “I laughed in your face and said ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith/ This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’rе modern idiots.'” 

Thomas, a Welsh poet, died at New York’s Chelsea Hotel in 1953. Smith lived in the same hotel in 1969.

The mention prompted Smith to post a photo of herself reading Thomas’ Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog. She wrote, “This is saying I was moved to be mentioned in the company of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Thank you Taylor.”

Patti’s latest book, A Book of Days, recently came out in paperback. It features 365 photos covering a single year of her life.

Smith is also due to hit the road this summer on a tour of Europe and the U.K. The trek kicks off June 25 in Brighton, England. A complete list of dates can be found at pattismith.net.

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Bruce Springsteen wrapped the first leg of his 2024 tour in Columbus, Ohio, Sunday and it looks like he had a hard time leaving the stage.

According to setlist.fm, The Boss treated the crowd to a 30-song set, kicking things off with The Ghost of Tom Joad song “Youngstown,” which he hasn’t performed since 2017. The track is somewhat appropriate for the occasion, since it’s written about Youngstown, Ohio.

But that wasn’t the only song to get its tour debut in Columbus. Springsteen also performed the Darkness on the Edge of Town track “Streets of Fire,” the first time it’s been performed since 2016, followed by Born in the U.S.A.’s “I’m Going Down,” its first performance since 2017.

Elsewhere, “Racing in the Streets” returned to the set thanks to a sign request, with Bruce wrapping the show with a seven-song encore: “Born to Run,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Bobby Jean,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Detroit Medley” and “Twist and Shout.” That was followed by the Bruce solo performance of “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” 

Springsteen now has a couple weeks off before he heads to Europe for a new leg of the tour, which kicks off May 5 in Cardiff, Wales. He returns to the U.S. in August, starting with a two-night stand in Pittsburgh August 15 and 18. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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By now, most people know that Billy Joel has played the most performances at New York’s Madison Square Garden. But a new record has just been set at another iconic New York venue: Radio City Music Hall.

On Saturday, April 20, Barry Manilow notched the record for the most lifetime concert performances at Radio City: 42. During the show, Barry was presented with a plaque commemorating the achievement by the Radio City Rockettes.

Manilow’s ongoing residency at Radio City started in May 2023 with five sold-out shows; he just wrapped up five more, which ran from April 17 to April 21. He’ll be back in October to do an additional five shows, after which he’ll have done 48 performances at Radio City.

“Radio City Music Hall is one of the greatest venues in the world,” Barry said in a statement. “What a thrill and an honor to receive this distinction.”

Barry returns to Las Vegas in May to resume his residency show at the Westgate Resort & Casino. He’ll then start a long run of shows in London, billed as his final ones in that city. He also has various U.S. arena dates scheduled throughout the summer.

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On This Day, April 22, 1993 …

The Who’s Tommy opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in New York.

The musical was an adaptation of the band’s 1969 rock opera. It was directed by Des McAnuff, with the book, music and lyrics by The Who’s Pete Townshend.

The musical follows a young boy named Tommy, who, after witnessing his father murder his mother’s lover, becomes deaf, dumb and blind. Despite this, he becomes an unlikely celebrity due to his pinball-playing skills and eventually inspires a cult following.

The show, which closed on June 17, 1995, won five Tony Awards, including Best Direction for McAnuff and Best Original Score for Townshend.

After a successful run in Chicago, a new reimagining of The Who’s Tommy opened at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre in March 2024, again directed by McAnuff. Tickets are on sale now.

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Before the winner of this season of American Idol is crowned, they’ll be getting advice from a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

Jon Bon Jovi will serve as a guest mentor for the contestants during the show’s “grand finale” on May 19 on ABC. He’ll be the second Rock & Roll Hall of Famer to be a guest mentor on the show this season: KISS‘ Gene Simmons appeared on the show on Sunday, April 21.

The news comes as Bon Jovi is getting ready to give fans some insight into their story with the new four-part docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which debuts April 26 on Hulu.

They are also releasing a new album, Forever, on June 7. The record, the band’s first release since their album 2020, is available for preorder now.

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The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced Sunday, April 21, on American Idol: Foreigner, Peter Frampton and Cher got the nod in the Performers category, along with Kool & The Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige and A Tribe Called Quest.

In a hugely sentimental nod, Jimmy Buffett, who passed away in September, is also getting in this year, in the Music Excellence category, which is handed out to “artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.” Dionne Warwick is also getting a Music Excellence induction, along with punk rockers MC5 and Motown producer/songwriter Norman Whitfield. 

Inductees in the Musical Influence category include the late blues and R&B singer Big Mama Thornton, as well as British blues musicians John Mayall and the late Alexis Korner. 

“Rock & Roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that impacts culture and moves generations,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “This diverse group of inductees each broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”

Of course there were some artists who failed to get in this year. Nominees who didn’t make the cut include Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinéad O’Connor, Mariah Carey, Sade, Oasis and Jane’s Addiction.

The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction will take place live on Saturday, October 19, at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The ceremony will stream live on Disney+, followed by a special airing on ABC at a later date.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann is the latest artist to pay tribute to Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts, who passed away April 18 at the age of 80.

In a post on Instagram, Kreutzmann writes of the “intertwined past” of the two bands, noting, “[W]e saw ourselves as fellows, part of a movement that was bigger than either band,” calling the Allman Brothers “the southern counterpart to the Grateful Dead.” 

“@dickeybettsofficial was a huge part of the Allman sound and his twin guitar leads with Duane were as influential to southern rock as just about any other single element,” he shares.

He then recalled playing with the Allmans in San Francisco one New Year’s Eve.

“Getting to play behind Betts was just one of those things where you know you are in the company of greatness and you’re just trying to live in that moment,” he concludes. “Well, that moment — and many others — will now live forever in my heart.” He signed the post, “So long, old friend.”

Kreutzmann’s Grateful Dead bandmate Mickey Hart also paid tribute to Dickey, sharing a Dead-inspired drawing of the rocker with the caption, “May the four winds blow Dickey safely home.”

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Crowded House’s Neil Finn joined Fleetwood Mac in 2018, along with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, after the band fired Lindsey Buckingham. But Finn admits it wasn’t necessarily easy taking his place.

It seems that while Buckingham was gone, Stevie Nicks didn’t want much else to change.

In a new interview with MOJO, Finn describes Mick Fleetwood as “the heart and soul of the band,” but notes that Stevie is very much the leader of the group, “because Stevie wants it the way Stevie wants it and that’s the way it’ll be.”

And it seems she wanted it to sound just like Lindsey.

“She couldn’t bear to be in a band with Lindsey anymore, but she still wanted to do it exactly the way he would have,” Finn says. “She was really happy with the way it sounded between me and her, but she put a lot of pressure on Mike to be more like Lindsey.” 

He adds, “Sometimes Mike’s solos would go on and Stevie would get exhausted playing tambourine. She’d be, ‘F****** hell, Lindsey only did 12 bars!'” 

As for Lindsey, Finn says he’s never met him, but would like to have dinner with him one day.

“There’s a lot of ill-will, but I don’t think he bears any towards me and I do think he had prior appreciation of the music I’d made,” he says. “Hopefully, once he got over the massive disappointment, he’d have thought, ‘At least someone with something going for them is singing my songs.’”

Finn is getting ready to release a new album with Crowded House. Gravity Stairs, the band’s eighth studio album and the first since 2021’s Dreamers Are Waiting, comes out May 31. It is available for preorder now.

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Robert Plant has been named patron of Good Shepherd, an English charity that helps the homeless community. 

Plant has been a longtime supporter of the organization and last December invited reps from the group to appear at his local concert at The Halls to help raise awareness of their work. He later visited the charity to learn more about the services it provides. 

“It was good to visit the Good Shepherd and learn more about their work,” Plant shares. “Providing food and a range of other support is a key part of it but something that I think is so important is the focus on rebuilding confidence, self-esteem and spirit.” 

“The Good Shepherd is a small local charity, but we have a big impact in our community,” CEO Tom Hayden says. “Having Robert support our work in Wolverhampton and the Black Country is incredible for our organization, and we’re extremely grateful he has decided to come on board as a patron.”

Plant is helping to support the organization’s new trainee program, which will offer two paid trainee positions to people who have experienced homelessness.

“We cannot thank Robert enough for becoming a patron and underpinning these trainee roles, and we look forward to keeping him updated on how our program develops,” Hayden adds.

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U2 is sharing the second installment in their recently launched digital series, U2 To Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides.

The band plans to release 12 newly remastered collections throughout the year, made up of songs that until now were only available on vinyl, CD or cassette.

The latest collection is centered around the track “Staring at the Sun,” which has four remixes. They’ve also shared video of a 2001 live performance of the tune at Slane Castle in Dublin. The collection also includes a fifth song, a remastered version of “Your Blue Room” from the movie Beyond the Clouds, which was released by Passengers aka U2 and Brian Eno. 

To coincide with the launch, U2 has released a new limited edition “Staring at the Sun” T-shirt, which is only available to order for one week.

“Staring at the Sun” was the second single off U2’s 1997 album Pop. It peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped both the Modern Rock and Adult Alternative charts.

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