Van Morrison and the late Jerry Garcia were celebrated at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction gala in New York City.
Morrison, known for writing such songs as “Gloria,” “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Moondance” and more, was honored with the Johnny Mercer Award for songwriting excellence at the ceremony. He was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.
Michael Bublé honored Morrison at the ceremony with a performance of “Moondance.”
Garcia, who passed away in 1995, and his Grateful Dead songwriting partner Robert Hunter were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Country star Zac Brown performed “Casey Jones” in celebration of the pair, while Hunter was on hand to perform “Ripple.”
Cyndi Lauper, Linda Perry, Toby Keith, Willie Dixon and Bobby Braddock were among the other inductees that year.
In the ongoing debate of The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart has picked sides.
During an appearance on BBC Radio 2, Rod was asked by U.K. pop star Robbie Williams which of the two legendary bands he would choose to front if he could — and Rod didn’t have trouble deciding.
“Yeah, I would have liked to have fronted The Stones, you know, because they were a London band and we all loved them,” Stewart said. He noted members of his own band, Faces, were big fans of The Stones’ 1970 live album Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out.
“It was a big influence with us when we used to go onstage,” he explained. “So definitely The Stones.”
That influence certainly seemed to help Rod’s Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, whowent on to become a member of The Stones.
Williams also asked Stewart to choose which other band from musical history he would want to front. He said that he “would have loved to have sung” with artists like Duke Ellington or Count Basie.
“Or maybe been the other half of Sam & Dave,” he added, referring to the famed R&B duo. “You know, Sam & Rod.”
Next up, Stewart is set to headline the Legends slot at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival on June 29. His tour returns to the U.S. on July 5 in Pittsburgh. A complete list of dates can be found at RodStewart.com.
The Police’s Sting and Andy Summers have reunited for a new cover of the band’s tune “Murder by Numbers.”
The former bandmates, who last played together during The Police’s 2007-08 reunion tour, both appear on a new version of the track. It was recorded by big band bassist Christian McBride for his upcoming album, Without Further Ado, Vol. 1., due out Aug. 29.
“I am absolutely thrilled to have Sting and Andy Summers — two-thirds of one of the most influential bands in history, The Police — join me for one of their songs,” McBride shares. “Sting continues to evolve gracefully as an artist, and Andy still plays with the sophisticated fire and grit he has always possessed.”
McBride’s version of “Murder by Numbers” is available now via digital outlets.
“Murder by Numbers” was recorded during sessions for The Police’s fifth and final album, 1983’s Synchronicity. The jazz-inspired tune wound up being a B-side to their #1 hit “Every Breath You Take,” and was a bonus track on the album’s CD and cassette release.
Bob Dylan appears on Barbra Streisand’s upcoming duets album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, and apparently their collaboration was a long time in the making.
Dylan previously said he wrote the song “Lay Lady Lay” for her to sing and had reached out about them singing together. In a new interview with TheNew Yorker, Babs talks about that early connection with Dylan.
“The fun thing is that we were both nineteen years old, in Greenwich Village, never met each other,” she tells the mag. “I remember him sending me flowers and writing me a card in different-color pencils, like a child’s writing: ‘Would you sing with me?’”
She adds, “I thought, What would I sing with him? How could we get together on this? I couldn’t understand it at that time.”
On Streisand’s album, she and Dylan collaborate on the song “The Very Thought of You,” which she calls a “wonderful” choice.
“Bob loved that song. He’s very shy, like I am. But he was wonderful to work with,” she says. “I was told that he didn’t want any direction. But when I talked to him about things that I suggested, he was so pliable—he was so open to suggestions.”
“Everything I heard about him just went out the window,” she notes. “He stood on his feet for three hours with me. … It was just an extraordinary three hours.”
The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two will be released June 27 and is available for preorder now. In addition to Dylan, it has Babs collaborating with Paul McCartney, Sting, James Taylor and others.
Paul McCartney has gotten a shoutout from Beyoncé.
Beyoncé wrapped up a six-night stand of her Cowboy Carter tour in London on Monday and took to Instagram to thank McCartney for writing The Beatles track “Blackbird,” which she covers.
“Thank you, Sir Paul McCartney, for writing one of the best songs ever made,” she wrote. “Every time I sing it I feel so honored.”
The post included pictures of Bey in one of her stage outfits, fringed chaps with a white T-shirt with blackbirds, which apparently was designed by McCartney’s designer daughter, Stella McCartney.
“And it is a full circle moment to wear your beautiful daughter’s design,” she added in the post.
Bey’s cover, retitled “Blackbiird,” appeared on her Cowboy Carter album. At the time of its release, McCartney praised her take on the song in a social media post.
“I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird,'” McCartney posted on Instagram. “I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.”
He added, “I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!”
While Madonna was once condemned by Pope John Paul II, to the current pope, she’s family — and she’s pretty excited about it.
As previously reported, the New York Times conducted a deep dive into the family tree of Robert Prevost,now known as Pope Leo XIV. Itreveals that through a Canadian ancestor, the pope is a ninth cousin various times removed to multiple famous people, including Madonna and Justin Bieber.
Madonna posted on her Instagram Story a photo of herself throwing her arms up in the air as her 94-year-old dad, Silvio Ciccone, sits in a chair in front of her. It’s captioned, “Silvio! We’re related to the Pope! Strike a Pose!” She also shared a social media post referring to the New York Times report.
In addition, Madonna included what appears to be part of her Father’s Day celebration, posting a photo of a bouquet of flowers and a card addressed to “Oh Father!” — the name of her 1989 song. There’s also a pic of Silvio holding up a photo of himself with the word “VOGUE” superimposed over it. That’s captioned, “My Dad is a Supermodel!”
Credit: David Byrne. Courtesy of L-Acoustics for “The Art of Sound: Sound is Fundamental.”
Talking Heads frontman David Byrne is featured in a new three-part documentary series The Art of Sound, from L-Acoustics, a creator of professional audio technology.
According to the press release, the series “merges scientific discovery with artistic insight to explore sound’s fundamental role in human evolution and its continuing influence on our daily lives.”
“It’s remarkable how much we can orient ourselves based on sound,” Bryne, who appears in the debut episode, “Sound is Fundamental,” shares. “We can’t close off our ears because that way, we can tell if something or someone is approaching. With your eyes closed, you can tell what kind of space you’re in, what kind of room you’re in, and what kind of landscape you’re in.”
He adds, “I think sound probably affects us emotionally and physically. You can sense something you can’t see.”
Byrne is set to release the new solo album Who Is the Sky? on Sept. 5, which is his first solo album since 2018’s American Utopia. He’ll also head out on a North American tour in support of the album, starting Sept. 14 in Providence, Rhode Island. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidByrne.com.
After a hugely successful career as frontman of The Police, Sting launched his solo career 40 years ago Tuesday with the release of his debut solo album, TheDream of the Blue Turtles.
The album, named after a dream Sting had, saw the rocker embracing a jazzier sound and working with jazz musicians like Branford Marsalis, Omar Hakim and Kenny Kirkland, which is something Sting found very fulfilling.
“I was putting myself out of my comfort zone, working with an entirely different group of musicians, a different kind of musician, and it paid dividends,” Sting tells ABC Audio. “I think, you know, your risk is rewarded a lot of the time.”
The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Sting released four singles in the U.S., starting with “If You Love Someone Set Them Free,” which landed at #3 on the Hot 100.
The Dream of the Blue Turtles wound up being a huge commercial success for Sting, with the album certified three-times Platinum in the U.S. It went on to earn several Grammy nominations, including album of the year.
And while 40 years is a big anniversary, the milestone isn’t one that Sting thinks about too much.
“I can’t keep up with these anniversaries. I mean, birthdays come around far too quickly, anniversaries do as well,” he says. “I remember my wedding anniversary. That’s what I remember. That’s important.”
Steve Perry‘s fans “Faithfully” showed up for the former Journey singer’s charity auction of personal memorabilia.
Perry raided his archives to raise money for LA wildfire relief; he ended up raising $215,000 for the cause. The top-selling item on the auction site, Darkives Collectibles, was a page of handwritten lyrics to “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which went for $43,500.
Other items that were sold in the auction included the handwritten lyrics to “Faithfully,” which brought over $12,000; Perry’s Gold and Platinum record plaques; vintage tour merchandise; studio-used instruments; and signed LPs, CDs and cassettes. One signed plaque highlighting the Platinum sales of Perry’s albums with Journey, as well as his own solo albums, went for over $10,000.
Perry said in a statement, “It means the world to me to see these personal pieces, many of which carry deep memories from different chapters of my life, find new homes while helping a cause that matters so deeply to me. I started this auction as a way to give back, and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming.”
Perry also teased, “Who knows… maybe I’ll dig a little deeper into the vault and do this again sometime.”
James McCartney (L) and Zak Starkey (2005)//David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Three sons of The Beatles have teamed up for a new song.
Drummer Zak Starkey, son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, has shared a new song from his band Mantra of the Cosmoson Instagram, which features John Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon and Paul McCartney’s son James McCartney on vocals, along with Happy Monday’s Shaun Ryder, who is a member of Mantra of the Cosmos.
Starkey said in an interview with The Telegraph that the track is called “Rip Off,” although he is adamant that the song is nothing like The Beatles.
“It’s like Mantra of the Cosmos with them in it … it’s still my band,” he said.
When it was suggested he needed to get George Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, for the track, he responded, “No I don’t. Why do I?”
This isn’t the first time Beatles offspring have gotten together. Back in April 2024, James McCartney released the song “Primrose Hill,” which he co-wrote with Sean Ono Lennon.
Starkey has been in the news a lot lately after being let go by Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey from his job as The Who‘s drummer ahead of their upcoming U.S. tour. But it sounds like he believes there’s still hope he’ll be back with the band.
“I spoke to Roger last week and he said, ‘Don’t take your drums out of [The Who’s] warehouse yet in case we need you,'” Starkey told The Telegraph. “I said, ‘Best let me know.'”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Rolling Stone Zak revealed how his dad, Ringo, has supported him through the whole controversy with The Who.
“I’m very proud of him standing up for me,” he told the mag. When the journalist then asked asking how he did so, Zak replied, “He said, ‘I’ve never liked the way that little man runs that band,'” referring to Daltrey.
