Classic Hits

Billy Joel was inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2006, and now one of his old bands will also be given the honor.

The Hassles, Billy’s first band to get a major label record deal, will be inducted at a ceremony June 28. Doing the honors will be Liberty DeVitto, who played drums with Billy once he became a solo artist. Tickets for the ceremony are on sale now. Visit limusichalloffame.org for more information.

Billy joined The Hassles in 1966 on keyboards and eventually vocals. They released two albums: their 1967 self-titled debut and 1969’s Hour of the Wolf. The first album featured two original songs by Billy; he wrote or cowrote every track on the second album. While the band members were local heroes and were very popular as a live act, neither of their albums did very well.

Billy and The Hassles’ drummer Jon Small eventually left The Hassles to form a Led Zeppelin-influenced heavy metal duo called Attila, whose one and only album also flopped. Attila split after Billy fell in love with Jon’s wife, Elizabeth Weber, which fractured their friendship. Two songs by The Hassles and one from Attila are included on the 2005 Billy Joel box set My Lives.

Billy’s time with The Hassles and what happened afterward is extensively documented in Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the two-part HBO documentary on Billy’s life and career that will air later this summer. 

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The earliest live recording of Sly & The Family Stone is getting a wide release.

The album, The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967, was originally released earlier this year as a limited-edition LP for Record Store Day and sold out. Now more people will be able to get their hands on it with the July 16 release on CD, LP and digital.

The performance was recorded during the band’s tenure as the house band at Winchester Cathedral, a club in Redwood City, California. They served as the house band from Dec. 16, 1966, to April 28, 1967, with the  performance taking place a year before the release of their hit track “Dance to the Music.”

“The Winchester Cathedral recordings showcase a one-of-kind outfit that was already at the peak of its powers, long before it became internationally famous,” says Alex Palao, who restored the original recording and produced the release. “Sly [Stone] is fully in command, while the unique arrangements and tighter-than-tight ensemble playing point clearly to the road ahead, and the enduring influence of Sly & The Family Stone’s music.”

To give fans a taste of the album, a live performance of “I Gotta Go Now/Funky Broadway” has been released to digital outlets.

The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 will include a deluxe booklet with liner notes from Palao, as well as exclusive interviews with Stone and members of the band. The CD includes the added bonus of the band performing Otis Redding’s classic “Try A Little Tenderness.”

The album is available for preorder now.

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A 57-year-old man from Pleasantville, New Jersey, has been arrested in connection with the theft of two instruments from the band Heart.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers announced Tuesday that two “irreplaceable” instruments were taken from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, where they performed on May 31. One was a one-of-a-kind purple sparkle baritone Telecaster with hand-painted headstock, which was custom made for Nancy Wilson. The other was a vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin, belonging to band member Paul Moak.

The Atlantic City Police Department announced Thursday that a man named Garfield Bennett has been arrested and charged with burglary and theft in connection with the case.

According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, surveillance video showed Bennett “walking through various parts of Atlantic City attempting to sell the instruments.” He was then located and taken into custody.

The instruments have not yet been returned. According to detectives, one of the instruments has been sold; there’s no information on the whereabouts of the second instrument. Police are asking anyone in possession of the instruments to contact them and voluntary surrender the items.

The post notes, “If not surrendered, and the individual is located in possession of the stolen items, they will be arrested and criminally charged with receiving of stolen property.”

Heart said in a statement they’re “deeply grateful to the Atlantic City Police Department, the Hard Rock organization, and everyone who came together to support us in the search for our stolen instruments.”

“The outpouring of love and concern has been overwhelming, and we are truly touched by the strength and compassion of this community,” they continued. “While we’re encouraged by the progress made and thankful that an arrest has been made, our instruments have not yet been recovered. We remain hopeful that they will be returned to us soon.”

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U2 frontman Bono is featured in “The Days,” a new track from rapper Lil Wayne.

The song is the lead single off Wayne’s upcoming album, Tha Carter VI, which will arrive on streaming platforms Friday.

The tune sees Wayne reflecting on his life and will be featured in an ad promoting the NBA Finals, which kick off Thursday between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. In the teaser you can hear Bono singing the chorus of “These are the days.”

Bono recently dropped some music of his own. He released a three-song EP of tunes performed in his documentary, Bono: Stories of Surrender, which is streaming now on Apple TV+. Tracks on the EP are “Desire,” “The Showman” and “Sunday.” The EP is available via digital outlets, with a 7-inch vinyl being released on June 13.

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If you didn’t get a chance to see Roger Waters’ This Is Not A Drill tour, you now have another shot to experience it.

This Is Not A Drill – Live from Prague The Movie is coming to theaters on July 23 and July 27, with tickets going on sale June 12 at RogerWaters.film.

The concert was recorded during the Pink Floyd rocker’s May 25, 2023, show at O2 Arena in the Czech Republic. The show was part of Waters’ “first ever Farewell Tour” and featured performances of 20 songs, including Pink Floyd classics like “Us & Them,” “Comfortably Numb” and “Wish You Were Here.” Waters also played a new song, “The Bar.”

As a preview of what to expect, Waters has released a video of the “Wish You Were Here” performance.

But that’s not all. Music from the film will be released on Aug. 1 in a variety of formats, including four-LP, two-CD, DVD, Blu-Ray and digital audio. It is available for preorder now.

Waters launched the This Is Not A Drill tour in the U.S. in July 2022. It consisted of 99 shows, wrapping in December 2023 in Quito, Ecuador.

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The long-in-the-works KISS biopic has reportedly found its Star Child.

Deadline reports that Nick Jonas will portray singer/guitarist Paul Stanley in Shout It Out Loud, a movie about the formation of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, known for their hard rock anthems, distinctive makeup, and onstage stunts involving fire and fake blood.

Production is set to start at either the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026.

Deadline reports that Nick will do his own singing, but will need some vocal training to replicate Stanley’s voice.

The film, which was first announced by KISS’ manager Doc McGhee in 2023, is being directed by McG, whose credits include directing Charlie’s Angels and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, as well as executive producing The O.C., Supernatural and Chuck.

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Madonna is finally releasing something that her fans have been talking about for more than two decades.

Veronica Electronica is an eight-track release that Madonna originally envisioned as a companion remix album to her smash Ray of Light LP. It was supposed to come out in 1998, but was put on hold because Ray of Light continued to spin off successful singles on its way to selling over 16 million copies worldwide.

Now, Veronica Electronica will finally see the Ray of Light of day on July 25. It’ll be available on silver vinyl and digitally. If you order from Madonna.com or Rhino.com, you’ll also receive an exclusive silver Mylar lithograph. A track from the album, “Skin (The Collaboration Remix Edit),” is out now.

The eight tracks include newly edited versions of club remixes by William Orbit, BT and Victor Calderone, plus the original demo of “Gone, Gone, Gone,” a previously unreleased recording that Madonna produced with Rick Nowels.

Here’s the track listing:
“Drowned World/Substitute For Love” – BT & Sasha Bucklodge Ashram New Edit
“Ray Of Light” – Sasha Twilo Mix Edit
“Skin” – The Collaboration Remix Edit
“Nothing Really Matters” – Club 69 Speed Mix Meets The Dub
“Sky Fits Heaven” – Victor Calderone Future New Edit
“Frozen” – Widescreen Mix and Drums
“The Power Of Good-Bye” – Fabien’s Good God Mix Edit
“Gone, Gone, Gone” – Original Demo Version 

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Rod Stewart has canceled another show of his Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

In a post on Instagram, Stewart apologized to fans for being unable to perform his show Thursday, noting, “My doctor ordered a bit more rest while I recover from the flu. Thanks for your love and understanding.”

The latest cancellation comes after Stewart postponed his June 1 show about 3 1/2 hours before the concert was scheduled to begin. At the time he revealed that he was “not feeling well.”

Stewart has shows planned at The Colosseum on Saturday and Sunday. He’ll then kick off a North American tour on June 12 in Rancho Mirage, California. He’s also set to headline the U.K.’s iconic Glastonbury Festival on June 29. A complete list of Rod dates can be found at RodStewart.com.

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On This Day, June 5, 1975…

Talking Heads — David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz — made their live debut at the New York club CBGB, where they opened for the Ramones.

The set consisted of songs like “Psycho Killer,” “The Girls Want to Be With the Girls,” “I Want to Live” and more.

Jerry Harrison joined the group in 1977, the same year they released their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, which included “Psycho Killer,” which went on to be one of their signature tunes. Their commercial breakthrough came in 1983, thanks to the top 10 hit “Burning Down the House,” which appeared on their fifth studio album, Speaking in Tongues.

Talking Heads released eight studio albums over the course of their career, their final being 1988’s Naked. They stopped touring in 1984, with their final show happening in February at Sweetwaters South Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Early in Part One of the new documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which premiered Wednesday night at New York’s Tribeca Festival, Billy sits at the piano in his palatial mansion in Long Island, which is being renovated. “It’s not finished yet,” he says. “And neither am I.”

Despite the brain disorder which kept him from attending the documentary’s premiere, Billy wanted everyone to know that, as the filmmakers told the audience, “He will be back.” They also read a message that he’d asked them to share: “Getting old sucks, but it’s still preferable to getting cremated.” 

Director Susan Lacy admitted that it “wasn’t always easy” to get Billy to open up. But, she noted, “He peeled back the layers of his music and his life with courage, humor and vulnerability.”

The premiere was introduced by Tribeca Festival co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. 

“Billy may be considered the poet laureate of New York,” De Niro said. He even sang a little bit of “New York State of Mind,” before noting, “He’s our Piano Man, and a wonderful, integral part of the heartbeat of our city.”

Only part one of the documentary, which will air in July on HBO and HBO Max, was shown. Through archival footage, photos and new interviews, it covers Billy’s childhood in Hicksville, Long Island, his first bands, his early solo career and his relationship with his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, his muse and manager who guided him to superstardom.

Part one, which ends with Billy’s 1982 motorcycle accident and impending divorce from Weber, drew spontaneous applause from the audience numerous times.

Weber is featured in interviews in the documentary, along with Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Pink, Jackson Browne, Garth Brooks, rapper Nas and the surviving members of Billy’s original band. 

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