Classic Hits – Page 15

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2025: Cyndi Lauper inducted

November 9, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Cyndi Lauper was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during Saturday’s ceremony in Los Angeles.

Chappell Roan introduced the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” artist in a speech paying tribute to her musical influence and activism work in the LGBTQ+ community.

“Cyndi embodies every quality of an artist that I admire,” the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer said. “She’s a born performer and a revolutionary songwriter, a forever fashion icon, and a fierce advocate and ally.”

Lauper then performed a three-song set beginning with her song “True Colors,” followed by “Time After Time” alongside RAYE. She closed with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” featuring Avril Lavigne and Salt-N-Pepa, who were inducted earlier in the night with the Musical Influence Award.

“I know that I stand on the shoulders of the women in the industry that came before me,” Lauper said in her acceptance speech. “And my shoulders are broad enough to have the women that come after me stand on mine.”

She added, “The little kid in me still believes that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world.”

Highlights from the 2025 Rock Hall induction ceremony will air Jan. 1 on ABC.

Howard Jones to perform on ’Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

“Things Can Only Get Better” now that Howard Jones is coming to late night TV.

The synth-pop artist will perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Nov. 12. You can tune in to watch starting at 11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. CT.

The Kimmel appearance comes as Jones continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his 1985 album Dream into Action, which spawned the aforementioned “Things Can Only Get Better,” as well as the singles “No One Is to Blame,” “Like to Get to Know You Well” and “Life in One Day.”

Jones marked the Dream into Action anniversary with a U.S. tour in September and will be touring Europe into December.

Watch latest episode of ’Queen The Greatest Special’ video series

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Queen has released the second episode in their ongoing five-part video series, Queen The Greatest Special, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of their 1975 album A Night at the Opera and its single “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

In the latest installment, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor describe how the first three Queen albums, 1973’s self-titled debut, and 1974’s Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, set the stage for the experimentation on A Night at the Opera and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“We go complex again [on A Night at the Opera],” May says. “You know, let’s pursue our dreams a bit further. We’ve done Sheer Heart Attack, it’s done quite well. But really, our heart is in chiseling out these unusual places.”

Queen The Greatest Special is now streaming on YouTube.

A 50th anniversary vinyl reissue of A Night at the Opera was released in October.

Rod Stewart extends One Last Time tour with 2026 dates

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Rod Stewart is extending his One Last Time tour with new dates in 2026.

The newly added shows kick off March 13, in Uncasville, Connecticut, and include stops in Houston, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Hollywood and more, before concluding in Kansas City on Aug. 15.

Howard Jones and Richard Marx will join Rod on the trek for select dates.

An artist presale begins Monday at 10 a.m. local time, with additional presales running throughout the week. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com.

In between the tour, Rod will also be returning to Las Vegas for another round of his residency, The Encore Shows. He has dates mapped out from May 27 through June 6.

His One Last Time world tour initially kicked off in 2024, with shows throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America.

Watch new lyric video for Brian Wilson’s ‘Live at the Roxy Theatre’ ’God Only Knows’ performance

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

The late Brian Wilson‘s performance of the Beach Boys classic “God Only Knows” from his Live at the Roxy Theatre live album now has a lyric video.

Live at the Roxy Theatre was recorded over two nights at the famed West Hollywood venue in April 2000. The set is now being reissued in honor of its 25th anniversary.

You can watch the new “God Only Knows” lyric video on YouTube.

The Live at the Roxy Theatre reissue, which was released Friday, includes the original track list, plus never-before-heard performances and tour recordings from between 2000 and 2009.

Wilson died in June at age 82.

Elton John among 2026 Grammy nominees

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Elton John is among the nominees for the 2026 Grammys.

The Rocket Man’s collaboration with Brandi Carlile, “Never Too Late,” recorded for his documentary of the same name, is up for best song written for visual media. The pair’s collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels?, is nominated in the best traditional pop vocal album category.

Other Grammy nominees include the Devo documentary Devo for best music film and Joni Mitchell‘s Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980) for best historical album.

The 2026 Grammys will air Feb. 1 on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Carlos Santana releases new song ‘Velas’ with Carín León

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Carlos Santana has teamed up with Mexican musician Carín León for a new song called “Velas.”

“This song is about something that both God and humans love; it’s called romance,” Santana says. “Romance is a bridge between humans and God. We all pray for something, to God or the universe.”

“What I hope people will feel when they hear this song is that they want to give each other a hug,” he adds. “There’s so much negativity in the world right now that we need a hug of light.”

You can watch the “Velas” video, which features both Santana and León, on YouTube.

Santana will resume his Las Vegas residence on Saturday. The 2025 leg concludes Nov. 16; a 2026 leg kicks off in January.

KISS announces 50th anniversary ‘Alive!’ reissue

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

KISS has announced a reissue of their famed 1975 Alive! live album in honor of its 50th anniversary.

The super-deluxe edition boasts eight vinyl LPs featuring the original record remastered, rehearsal tracks, and bonus live recordings from 1975 shows in Davenport, Iowa; Wildwood, New Jersey; and Cleveland.

The package also includes various memorabilia, such as tour poster and programs, photos and ticket stubs.

Preorders are currently open exclusively to members of the KISS Army fan club. For more info, visit KISS’ web store.

After developing a cult following with their first three records, Alive! helped KISS truly break into the mainstream. The album turned “Rock and Roll All Nite” into KISS’ signature hit, and also introduced songs including “Strutter” and “Black Diamond” to wider audiences.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2025: Cyndi Lauper ‘stands on the shoulders’ of the women before her

November 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Cyndi Lauper will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Chappell Roan on Saturday. In that moment, she’ll be thinking of all the female artists who’ve proceeded her, and those who’ll follow her.

Cyndi shouted out her heroes, including Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and Joni Mitchell, on Instagram when her induction was announced in April and added, “Women have made so many important contributions to music and to rock n roll and a win for one of us is a win for all of us.”

“For a long, long time, we weren’t included, or very few of us were included,” Cyndi told ABC Audio of that post. “So, of course, I stand on the shoulders of the women that came before us.”

As the accolades piled up throughout her career — including two Grammys, an Emmy and a Tony — Cyndi’s kept this mind.

“Every award I got, I said the same thing. I said, ‘Thank you for all of the people that came before me, the women whose shoulders I stand on and the women that will come after me,'” she recalled. “Because you’re just a chain in a line of history — or ‘herstory.’ I like that word.”

Pat Benatar, a fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and friend of Cyndi’s, couldn’t agree more.

Until recently, Benatar told ABC Audio, “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it wasn’t really balanced about how many women were going in. It was mostly men. It took us 22 years to get in ourselves.”

“So it’s great to see her finally get in too because she deserves to be there,” added Benatar. “She’s such a great artist. … She has so many facets to what she does.”

“It’s just the more the merrier!” Benatar said. “Every time another woman gets in there, I’m really happy.”

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will stream live on Disney+ Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. ABC will air a highlights special on Jan. 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Bono, David Byrne among 2025 HMMA nominees

November 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Bono and David Byrne are among the nominees for the 2025 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

The U2 frontman’s rendition of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” in his Stories of Surrender documentary is up for the song – onscreen performance (film) prize, while the Talking Heads singer’s collaboration with Paramore‘s Hayley Williams for the film The Twits, “Open the Door,” is nominated in the song – animated film category.

Additionally, Stories of Surrender, the Billy Idol documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead and the Jeff Buckley documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley are nominated for music documentary – special program, and the Bruce Springsteen biopic, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, is up for music themed film or musical.

The 2025 HMMAs take place Nov. 19 in Los Angeles.

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